Hossein Shanbehzadeh, a journalist, translator, editor, and social media activist, was sentenced to 12 years on several anti-state charges. In an article for the state-run Asriran news site, his attorney, Amir Raesian, said that he will serve at least five years of the sentence, the minimum allowable sentence for the crimes.
Shanbehzadeh was detained on June 6, 2024, in the northwestern city of Ardabil. His arrest followed his response posted on X to Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei. The journalist’s post, which contained only a period, was a reply to Khamenei’s post missing a period and notably received more likes and shares than the original. Shortly after his post, his X account was suspended.
On August 31, 2024, Shanbehzadeh’s lawyer said he had been sentenced by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court to five years for “propaganda in favor of the occupying regime of Israel,” four years for “insulting Islamic principles,” two years and a fine for “spreading lies to public opinion,” and one year for “propaganda against the state.”
The Ardabil prosecutor accused Shanbehzadeh, without providing evidence, of “connections with senior officers in Israel’s Mossad spy agency and of attempting to flee the country,” according to Asriran.
In the Asriran article, Raesian, his attorney, said prosecutors lacked evidence to convict the journalist, particularly on the accusation of links to Israel. He said that the case relied heavily on private chat messages which did not clearly demonstrate criminal intent. Prosecutors claimed that the journalist’s social media posts, which included messages of support for political detainees, criticism of national policies and the electoral process, and the use of hashtags such as “No to execution,” were evidence of “insulting Islamic principles.” He said that the journalist may appeal the sentence.
CPJ was unable to determine the status of Shanbehzadeh’s health in prison.
CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York in late 2024 for comment on the case of Shanbehzadeh and other imprisoned Iranian journalists but received no response.