Iran sentences Mahsa Amini's uncle to five years in prison for criticising the government

Iran’s right-wing organisations have reported that the uncle of Mahsa Amini, whose custodial death prompted months of unrest in the country, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for his criticism of the government in 2022. Safa Aeli, 30, was given a five-year and four-month prison sentence by the revolutionary court in Saqez, the family’s hometown in northwest Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) of the US and the Hengaw group of Norway. He was also subjected to penalties, which included the extremely unusual requirement that he create a written biography of a security force member slain during the protests and then provide the judicial authorities with his “own personal interpretation” of the completed document, Hengaw said. He was then ordered to post a voice message about the work on his social media accounts and otherwise banned from expressing any views about the protests. Mahsa Amini, 22, died in hospital in September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly flouting the strict dress rules for women in the Islamic republic. Amini’s family and activists say she was killed by a blow to the head while in custody, a claim denied by Iranian officials. Quoting family lawyer Saleh Nikbakht, HRANA said that part of Aeli’s sentence was suspended and Aeli would have to serve three years and six months in prison. The charges against him include taking part in protests that violated internal security, dissemination of anti-government propaganda, and insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Aeli was released on bail a month after his arrest in September 2023, shortly before the one-year anniversary of the death of his niece. The protests after Amini’s death shook Iran’s Islamic authorities but have now subsided in the face of a crackdown in which rights groups said hundreds were killed and the UN tallied thousands arrested. Nine men have been executed in cases related to the protests, according to rights groups. Iranian authorities say dozens of security personnel were also killed in what they describe as “riots” incited by foreign governments and hostile media. With inputs from AFP