Iran e-commerce chief convicted for ‘prostitution’

Author: AFP

The head of a major Iranian e-commerce site has been sentenced to three months in jail over his platform being allegedly used for prostitution, state news agency IRNA said Monday.

It said the conviction of Achkan Armandehi, CEO of the site Divar, has been upheld on appeal. Armandehi, whose site was founded in 2013 and covers a wide range of commercial activities, was accused of “facilitating corruption and prostitution by recruiting prostitutes”, it said.

IRNA said his conviction has raised alarm bells among Iranian entrepreneurs. “Apparently, the sentence was passed because of certain criminal activities of users who abused the application,” it said. Armandehi’s company said the judicial authorities in Iran had failed “to distinguish between the responsibility of the platform and that of its users”.

Prostitution is illegal in Iran. “Divar is not in a position to be able to examine the motives or intentions of each one of its 44 million users,” the company said in a statement. Iran’s telecoms ministry, for its part, called on the head of the judiciary to re-examine the ruling.

Share
Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

  • Pakistan

‘Final call turns out to be missed call’

In a scathing criticism, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the party…

23 mins ago
  • Pakistan

SC rejects suo motu notice plea on fatalities during PTI protest

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has rejected the PTI plea seeking to take…

25 mins ago
  • Pakistan

Finance ministry sees Nov inflation dropping to 5.8-6.8%

The first four months of the current fiscal year showed better than expected improvement marked…

25 mins ago
  • Pakistan

Govt says Afghans can’t live in Islamabad without NOC after Dec 31

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced that from December 31, no Afghan nationals will…

25 mins ago
  • Editorial

Ceasefire & Crossfire

The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, two longstanding rivals, was welcomed by the people of…

35 mins ago
  • Editorial

Stocks & Strife

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is witnessing what was predicted, turbulence. The stock gains in…

35 mins ago