A Canadian resident's death sentence has been thrown out in Iran, six months after a judge ordered his execution on charges that he helped develop and promote porn websites.
Saeed Malekpour was sentenced to death in December, despite protests from his family that he was innocent of the charges against him.
Iran's supreme court has now quashed the death sentence and ordered a judicial review into his case.
Defence lawyers said the court reversed its decision after being presented with evidence from experts.
Malekpour will remain in jail while the judicial review is upheld.
His wife, Fatima Eftekhari told Britain's Guardian newspaper that she is "very pleased that his life is finally saved."
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs says it is aware of reports that the Iranian court has dropped the death sentence against Malekpour, a permanent Canadian resident, though it has not been able to confirm them.
However, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alain Cacchione told Â鶹´«Ã½ in an email that the federal government has "limited scope for direct intervention in his case" as Malekpour is not a Canadian citizen.
Malekpour was arrested in October 2008 after he travelled to Iran to visit his ailing father.
The web programmer was later convicted of designing and moderating adult materials online, though his family said he simply designed photo uploading software that was used by a porn website without his knowledge.
While in captivity, Malekpour has been held in the notorious Evin Prison at times and he has told his family that he has suffered torture.
With files from The Canadian Press
