Facebook activists sentenced to prison, lashes in Iran
Eight Iranian Facebook activists have been sentenced to prison for terms ranging from eight to 21 years.
Eight Facebook activists in Iran were sentenced to a total of 127 years in prison, according to the administration’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Two of the individuals were given the harshest of the punishments: over 18 and 19 years in prison in addition to a fine and 50 lashes. The other individuals received 21, 20, 16, 12, 11 and eight years in prison.
The names of the activists were not given but they were described as “youth.” They were originally arrested in July 2013 and charged with colluding and gathering against national security, propaganda activities against the system, insulting sacred symbols, insulting the judiciary and insulting specific individuals.
It is not clear whether the individuals, some of whom appear to have been administrators of Facebook pages, were working together or if the police operation was part of a larger roundup by security forces. The activists lived and were arrested in various cities including Tehran, Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz and Abadan.
