Abbas Jafari Dolat Abadi, Tehran Attorney General announced that the 8 arrested environmentalists have been indicted, and four of them are charged with “spreading corruption on earth”.

Previously some judicial authorities had said that the arrested environmentalists were charged with espionage, but the Attorney General said that the charges for four of them have changed.

Dolat Abadi claimed that the case investigator has discovered that some of these environmentalists had accessed military information.

Isa Kalantari, the director of Environmental Protection Agency, in a cabinet meeting, said that the Judiciary had not informed the government about these charges. Shahindokht Molaverdi, president’s deputy of citizenship rights said the government will follow up on this matter.

But she stated that “there is no verdict yet and even if a verdict is issued, it will be preliminary, and there is also appeal, and these are all at accusation level now.”

Isa Kalantari had previously told ISNA that the only official authority on espionage charges is the minister of intelligence which has officially said the arrested environmentalists are not spies.”

In January of this year 10 environmental activists, including Kavous Seyed Emami, were arrested by the IRGC. A while later the prison authorities announced that Seyed Emami, a Canadian citizen, has committed suicide in prison. The Human Rights organizations do not believe this claim.

Spreading corruption on earth is the highest crime in Islamic Revolutionary Courts of Iran, and they are usually punishable by death.