A single dot under Khamenei's tweet gets Iranian blogger long jail term

Iran's Judiciary on Saturday handed a total of 12 years in prison to Iranian blogger Hossein Shanbehzadeh who was arrested in June after posting a single dot in response to a tweet by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Shanbehzadeh posted the dot in May in a seemingly innocuous move but was arrested a few weeks later, after his reply garnered significantly more likes than Khamenei's original tweet, drawing widespread attention. His temporary detention order was extended in July for another month.

On August 31, his lawyer announced he has been sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison for spurious charges that are usually leveled by the Islamic Republic's Judiciary against activists to keep them jailed for long terms and intimidate others.

Shanbehzadeh, known for his candid critiques and social media presence, has been sentenced to five years in jail for "pro-Israel propaganda activity," four years for "insulting Islamic sanctities," two years for "spreading falsehoods" on social media, and one year for "anti-regime propaganda activity," his lawyer Amir Raisian told Shargh newspaper on Saturday.

Although sentenced to a total of 12 years, he is required to serve the longest term, which is five years, Raisian explained.

According to the lawyer, the Judiciary has not provided any evidence to prove that the defendant committed "pro-Israel propaganda activity". Raisian says the charge has been leveled against him based on his "private chats".

For his other charges, Raisian said the court cited his support for other political prisoners, portraying the country's situation negatively, using the hashtag "No to Execution," supporting the removal of mandatory hijab, creating a negative media atmosphere against Iran's elections, and expressing joy at the death of Iran's former president, Ebrahim Raisi, as evidence.

The lawyer says he will consider appealing the sentence after discussing it with his client in prison.

Shortly after his arrest in May, Shanbehzadeh's X account was deactivated, likely to prevent its misuse by security agencies, but his name trended on Persian-language X for hours as users highlighted his influence and fearless commentary.

Shanbehzadeh had previously been imprisoned in connection with the 2019 protests on charges of "insulting the sanctities and the leader of the Islamic Republic." His arrest this time led to accusations by IRGC-linked media, with reports claiming he was a "fugitive Mossad agent" with ties to Israeli intelligence and a history of insulting religious figures. The Ardabil prosecutor's office further alleged that Shanbehzadeh had been in contact with high-ranking Mossad officers and was arrested when trying to flee the country through northwestern borders.

In response to these accusations, Shanbehzadeh's family refuted the claims as "unjustifiable," emphasizing that he has always used his real identity on social media. They also pointed out that the charges were leveled just 24 hours after his arrest, without him having access to a lawyer.

The arrest has drawn outrage from social media users, many of whom link it directly to the viral comment Shanbehzadeh made under Khamenei's tweet. Chess grandmaster and Putin critic Garry Kasparov even responded to the news with a single dot on his X account.

Shanbehzadeh's case has raised alarms about Iran's history of using espionage charges against its critics, drawing comparisons to other high-profile cases, such as that of Maziar Ebrahimi, a businessman falsely accused of spying for Israel.