In 1999, new curbs were put on the press. Courts banned more than 60 newspapers. Important allies of President Khatami were arrested, tried and imprisoned on what outside observers considered "trumped up" or ideological grounds. Tehran mayor, Gholamhossein Karbaschi was tried on corruption charges and Interior Minister Abdollah Nouri for "sacrilege" – despite their credentials as activists in the Islamic revolution. In 2002 history professor and reformist activist Hashem Aghajari was sentenced to death for apostasy for calling for "Islamic Protestantism" and reform in Islam.