10-Year Prison Sentence and Two-Year Media Ban Issued for Amirhossein Esmaeili

The defense attorney of Amirhossein Esmaeili, a journalist, announced that his client has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, a two-year ban from media and social media activities, a two-year exit ban from the country, and a monetary fine. Hossein Ahmadi Niaz stated on Tuesday, August 20, in an interview with ISNA news agency that his client was accused in the criminal court of the Government Employees Judicial Complex in Tehran of 'insulting officials and government and judicial agents in the course of their duties', 'insulting sacred beliefs and the Imams', 'spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion', and 'publishing content contrary to public morals and decency'. This attorney noted that 'numerous objections to this ruling exist' and added that his client 'expressed criticism of officials in the form of satire, but unfortunately, it has been considered an insult'. He further stated that his client did not intend to insult the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims in his tweet and that 'the content of the tweet is not considered insulting'. Amirhossein Esmaeili was arrested on July 11. He had been detained in May on charges of 'insulting' the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported without naming the journalist that on April 23, citing 'an informed security source', he was arrested at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran while attempting to leave Iran for Georgia. Amirhossein Mir Esmaeili had published a tweet criticizing the opposition of Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, to holding music concerts in the city, which was interpreted as an insult to the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims. He deleted that tweet and emphasized that he did not intend to insult and is a Muslim and Shia, only wanting to criticize Ayatollah Alamolhoda. He wrote on social media: 'My intention with that tweet was to critique the events that occurred in Mashhad in a contemporary and colloquial language understandable to the younger generation (criticizing Mr. Alamolhoda's views on music and concerts), but unfortunately, after publishing the tweet, I realized that the words used conveyed a different meaning.' Mr. Mir Esmaeili subsequently requested 'pardon and forgiveness' and simultaneously reported in another tweet that he had been 'threatened with acid attacks and murder' because of his writings. According to ISNA, Mr. Ahmadi Niaz stated that he would appeal the ruling against his client and added: 'A two-year ban or deprivation of activity in cyberspace is more a deprivation of an individual's freedom and a violation of their rights, which contradicts numerous principles of the constitution.' This defense attorney called on the government to exhibit 'patience and tolerance' and added: 'We must have an understanding of satire and consider the reality of satire, and I believe this ruling contradicts the principle of tolerance and shows a lack of understanding of the nature of satire.' According to ISNA, the ruling issued for Mr. Esmaeili states that he is sentenced to six years of imprisonment for 'insulting' the sacred beliefs of Islam and the Imams of Shia, eight months of imprisonment for 'insulting officials, agents, and government officials' in the course of their duties, 14 months of imprisonment and a fine of six million rials for 'publishing content contrary to public morals and decency', and three years of imprisonment for 'spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion'. The ruling also states that 'the severest punishment' will be enforced against this journalist and 'the duration of imprisonment includes the time already served in detention'. According to ISNA, the court in its ruling stated that in line with implementing supplementary punishments and based on Article 23 of the Islamic Penal Code, 'the accused is prohibited from any activity in social networks and cyberspace such as Telegram, Instagram, and similar platforms and from publishing the content subject to the ruling, which is entirely criminal, for two years, and is also banned from leaving the Islamic Republic for two years.' Since the victory of the February 1979 revolution, many journalists in Iran have been arrested and imprisoned on security charges. According to Reporters Without Borders, the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the five largest prisons in the world for media activists. Reporters Without Borders, in its latest annual report on 'media freedom', stated that Iran ranks 164th out of 180 countries in the 2018 list and has made no significant progress compared to the previous year, remaining 'stuck at the bottom ranks'.