Iranian activist sentenced to 12 years for tweeting a single dot

Hossein Shanbehzadeh, an Iranian writer and activist, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for tweeting a single dot in response to a tweet by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in May, and for alleged pro-Israel propaganda, according to Iran International and Iranian Shargh News on Saturday.

Shanbehzadeh's reply to the original tweet received more likes than the original post, and he was arrested a few weeks later, according to Iran International.

The literary editor, translator, and activist, who is present on X, formerly Twitter, confirmed in a call to his family that he was arrested in Ardabil in June, Iran International reported.

At the time of his arrest, Iran's judiciary reported that a "fugitive Mossad agent" had been arrested. IRGC-affiliated semi-official Tasnim News later identified the person as Shanbehzadeh.

Amir Raisian, Shanbehzadeh's lawyer, told "Shargh Network" that according to the court's verdict, Mr Shanbehzadeh was to be sentenced to five years in prison according to Article 8 of the 'Law on Countering the Hostile Actions of the Zionist Regime against Peace and Security,' having been accused of pro-Israel propaganda. 

On top of the five-year sentence, the lower court sentenced the activist to four years on charges of "insulting Islamic sanctities," two years for "spreading lies and disturbing public thought," and an additional one for propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Mr. Shanbehzadeh must also pay a fine of 50 million rials, which is around $1200, according to Raisian.

Details of the accusations

According to the lawyer, the defendant plans to issue an objection to the verdict, specifically against the accusation of pro-Israel propaganda, which he says "does not have a specific material basis." Raisian added that this charge was based on the writer's private chats, not public messaging.

His lawyer provided Shargh with some examples of the accusations against Shanbehzadeh for "insulting Islamic sanctities." These include support for political prisoners, supporting the removal of the hijab, tweeting "no to execution," and expressing happiness at the death of President Raisi.

The late Iranian president died in a helicopter crash in May and has since been replaced by Mahmoud Pezeshkian.

Shanbezadeh has, according to both sources, been highly critical of the state, having written articles about his condemnation of execution as punishment and of finger amputation as punishment at Evin prison. According to sources cited by both Amnesty International and Iran International, a prisoner at Evin prison in Tehran had four fingers amputated by guillotine in June 2022.

Hossein Shanbhzadeh previously worked under a pseudonym and was identified by Iran's security institutions in 2018 before being arrested, according to Iran International. At the time, he spent periods in solitary confinement.