Sadegh Zibakalam, University Professor and Government Critic, Arrested and Transferred to Prison

The judiciary of the Islamic Republic states that Sadegh Zibakalam, a university professor and government critic, has been transferred to prison due to having 'three cases' with 'definitive and enforceable' rulings. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported on Sunday, May 13, that 'Zibakalam has recently made false claims in the media and has published numerous unsubstantiated and undocumented claims in cyberspace.' Meanwhile, the Cyber Corps of the Revolutionary Guards wrote on its Telegram channel: 'Sadegh Zibakalam, who was on his way to the book fair to unveil his latest book titled “Why Aren’t You Arrested?” was arrested this morning.' Zibakalam has been sentenced to imprisonment and deprivation of social and political activities. He had previously announced on Telegram that his new book was set to be unveiled on Sunday morning at the book fair in Tehran. The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced this political analyst in March 2018 to 18 months in prison for 'propaganda activities against the regime,' along with two months of deprivation from political party activities and social media. Zibakalam has also been sentenced to one year in prison for 'propaganda activities against the regime' in two other cases and six months for 'spreading falsehoods.' The judiciary has also stated that this political activist 'has multiple judicial cases.' In this context, the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported on January 6 of last year that 'the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office has filed a complaint against Sadegh Zibakalam, who made claims regarding the terrorist incident in Kerman.' Previously, the Tehran prosecutor had announced the formation of a judicial case and complaint against several individuals and entities, including Sadegh Zibakalam, regarding suspicious poisoning incidents among students.