Iran moves closer to reinstating Zoroastrian city councilor
Iran’s Expediency Council is inching closer to reinstating an elected Zoroastrian member of a city council after a controversial suspension over his faith.
The reinstatement of Sepanta Niknam, who won nearly 22,000 votes in May 2017 for a seat on the city council of Yazd in central Iran, could be just around the corner. The controversial case, protracted for months, has not ceased to grip the attention of Iranian media.
Following his re-election — he had served on the council since 2013 — Niknam’s very candidacy was legally challenged by a defeated local rival. In October, the Guardian Council chaired by hard-line cleric Ali Jannati approved a ruling by the Administrative Court of Justice that suspended Niknam on religious grounds.
