Iran's hard-line judiciary dropped a charge carrying the death penalty against dissident academic Hashem Aghajari, whose original death sentence sparked mass student protests in 2002, his lawyer said on Monday.
Although the most serious charge of blasphemy was dropped, Aghajari still faces years in prison for lesser charges.
A reformist history lecturer, Aghajari was convicted of blasphemy.
His comments were deemed by some to be a challenge to Iran's clerical establishment. The case was seen by political analysts as a litmus test of the limits of free speech in the Islamic Republic.
Earlier this month Iran's Supreme Court revoked Aghajari's death sentence for blasphemy because it was dissatisfied with a review of the case by a court in the western province of Hamadan, which had re-issued its original death sentence.
The Supreme Court ordered the case to be sent to another court in the capital Tehran - which ruled on Monday - for a more comprehensive review.
"Aghajari stood trial today and was charged with insulting religious values, not blasphemy," his lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told Reuters. This carries up to five years in jail.
Nikbakht said Aghajari also faced charges of insulting clerics and disturbing order, for which sentences are at the discretion of the judge.
Nikbakht said his client denied the charges brought against him.
"I am a Shia Muslim and do not accept any of the new charges levelled against me," Nikbakht quoted Aghajari as saying.
The head of Iran's Supreme Court Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani said last week Aghajari could be freed on bail pending a review.
However, Nikbakht said Aghajari was going to remain in jail for at least another month.
"The court extended his detention order for one month because they said his release might generate some problems in society," Nikbakht said without giving further details.
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