A well-known Iranian regime critic and political scientist, Sadegh Zibakalam, is beginning a jail term in Tehran's Evin prison, media reports said on Sunday.
According to the judiciary's Mizan website, the 75-year-old academic and university professor faced three charges, including spreading unproven information on social media and propaganda against the Islamic system.
Zibakalam was convicted on all counts and jailed for 18, 12 and 6 months, respectively. According to Mizan, he must first serve the 18-month sentence at the Evin facility, which has a reputation for human rights abuses and mistreatment of political prisoners.
The academic has long been a fierce critic of the Islamic system. After the mass protests in 2022, he appeared even more frequently and wrote analyses critical of the regime on social media.
Zibakalam also conducted interviews with foreign media, including opposition broadcasters abroad. Contact with these broadcasters is strictly forbidden in Iran.