Iran: a decade in prison as a sentence for protesters

The Iranian people have been demonstrating against the regime for four months now. The protests that began with the death of young Mahsa Amini are turning out to be the largest since 1979. The riots have already claimed more than 500 lives, four people have been executed by hanging, and more than 19,000 people have been arrested, of whom 14 have been sentenced to be hanged. As the demonstrations continue, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced ten-year prison sentences for those who dare to persist in their determination to continue the revolution. Activists used social media early last month to call for a three-day nationwide strike in support of the protesters. 

Mizan Online, an Iranian website, announced that Iranian jurisprudence said the first four defendants to be sentenced to ten years in prison are still in a position to appeal the sentence in order to see a reduction in their punishment. Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the judiciary in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, told the website that the detainees were charged with "inciting drivers to strike and vandalism". Anoush Ehteshami, director of the Institute of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Durham University in the UK, said the new trials partly reflected growing domestic and foreign pressure. 

While such measures may seem insignificant, from the perspective of a securitised and beleaguered regime, they believe they are being generous and are serving as a response to public pressure. International analysts see it as intimidation, but according to Ehteshami, it is a strategy by the regime to see how protesters react. Although there have been some releases, other prominent figures have spent months in prison. The announcement of the new punishments to replace the death sentence is a sign that sections of the regime itself are opting for less brutal ways of fighting the uprisings. 

Ehteshami says the regime is very clever in its decision-making and in controlling the tempo of the situation. "People forget that this regime has survived for 44 years because it can be very cunning, clever and Machiavellian in terms of what it has to do to survive," he added. It is a government that knows how and when to make concessions. Afshin Shahi, associate professor of Middle Eastern studies at Keele University in the UK, testified that "in most authoritarian regimes there are always hawks and doves" who disagree on how repressive sanctions should be in the face of a problem of such magnitude.

Star actress Taraneh Alidoosti was released on bail on Wednesday after being detained for nearly three weeks, her lawyer said.  Other cases include veteran activist Arash Sadeghi and the two Iranian journalists who helped expose the Amini case. In early December, Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said the Morality Police had "been abolished". According to Ehteshami, some authorities "are now starting to talk about a compromise", although it is too early to tell what that would be. But "in general terms I don't think they have what the people want", which is a total change, the details of which have not been defined, he said. 

Azadani's case went viral and sparked worldwide criticism when footballers' associations and international media announced in December that the player had been sentenced to death. The player has now been sentenced to 26 years in prison for his complicity in the murder of the three Basijis, five years for the charge of assembly and collusion to commit crimes and two years for being a member of illegal groups with the intent to disrupt public security. The sentences will be served concurrently, so that he will initially serve 26 years in prison.