A court in the Islamic Republic sentenced a dissident blogger to 12 years in prison and a fine of 50 million rials after he was arrested for posting the period symbol in response to a tweet by the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a report by Iran International.
Hossein Shanbehzadeh, a frequent critic of Tehran's rulers, was arrested in June on suspicion of being a “fugitive Mossad agent,” a month after he made the sarcastic gesture on the X social media platform.
The literary editor’s reply reportedly received more user interaction than the original commentary made by Khamenei.
Shanbehzadeh’s attorney, Amir Raisian, told the Shargh newspaper that his client was given five years for the allegations that he was an Israeli spy, and an additional four years for "insulting Islamic sanctities," two years for "spreading falsehoods," and one year for "anti-regime propaganda activity."
Raisian explained to the news outlet that he expects Shanbehzadeh to only serve the five-year term for the most serious charge, although an appeal is planned.
The defendant had previously been incarcerated in the notorious Evin Prison after being convicted of "insulting the sanctities and the leader of the Islamic Republic" for his participation in the 2019 civil unrest that spread throughout the theocracy.
Shanbehzadeh’s name trended on Persian-language X shortly after his detention began.
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