An 80-year old head of a banned opposition party in Iran has been ordered to serve eight years in prison. Ebrahim Yazdi, activist and former foreign minister, was convicted in December 2011 on charges of “attempting to act against national security”. Yazdi, who is currently suffering with cancer and a heart condition was informed on 16 April by Evin prison that he had 20 days to surrender to serve the 2011 sentence. The elderly activist, who was a key figure in the 1979 Islamic revolution, refuses to acknowledge that the charges against him are valid.