Reactions to Ten-Year Prison Sentence for ‘Sahar Tabar’; ‘Disease’ of Iran’s Government to ‘Enslave People’
The conviction of Fatema Khoshvand, known as “Sahar Tabar,” to ten years in prison has sparked multiple critical reactions on social media networks. Some described it as punishment for “rejuvenation” in the “Islamic Republic of ISIS,” while others said it is a sign of the Iranian government’s “disease” of “enslaving people.”
After this 19-year-old girl announced on Friday, December 21, in an interview with Iranian media outlets that she had been found guilty in two of the charges against her and sentenced to ten years in prison, Persian-speaking social media users accused the Islamic Republic’s judicial system of issuing unjust sentences and attempting to suppress the people.
Masih Alinejad, presenter and commentator of the Voice of America’s Tablet program, initially posted on Twitter, referring to the fact that this young girl in some of her videos intended to use makeup and Photoshop to make herself look like a zombified Angelina Jolie, and asked the Hollywood actress to condemn the issuance of the prison sentence for this girl.
In another Twitter post, alluding to a tweet by Iran’s Minister of Communications and Technology who had asked young people to “rejuvenate,” she wrote: “The Islamic Republic of ISIS is in power, rejuvenate and you will be killed, imprisoned, or exiled.”
Omid Jalili, a British-Iranian comedian, also retweeted Masih Alinejad’s message, addressing Angelina Jolie while referring to her high popularity in Iran, and wrote: “Now a girl who wanted to jokingly make herself look like a zombie version of you has been imprisoned.”
Reza Haqiqat Nejad also referred to the government’s handling of this young girl and wrote: “Fatema Khoshvand, known as ‘Sahar Tabar,’ 19 years old, whose work and hobby was Photoshopping her own photos on Instagram. She became popular, they arrested her, extracted a forced confession, and now she has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. These actions by the government are not a reaction, not a warning, they are a disease; a disease of enslaving people. It is madness.”
Some users have also compared this sentence with sentences issued for more serious crimes. For example, they pointed to the lenient sentence issued for Said Mortazavi, who was tried on charges of financial corruption and the Kahrizak detention center case, as well as for a father who killed his daughter.
Aazam Jangaroei, one of the “Daughters of Revolution Street,” posted on Twitter that Sahar Tabar, a girl who was posting her photos with makeup and Photoshop edits on Instagram, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Romina Ashrafi’s father, who killed his daughter, was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
Another user, criticizing this severe sentence for a teenage girl who was posting her photos on Instagram, wrote that such sentences are only issued under the repressive rule of the Islamic Republic.
Fatema Khoshvand, who became famous under the name Sahar Tabar on Instagram, was arrested last September by order of the Media Prosecutor’s Office and faced charges such as “complicity in corruption on earth” and “promoting violence, spreading moral corruption, and encouraging young people to engage in corruption and norm-breaking.” The prosecutor’s office sent her case to the Revolutionary Court for trial.
This teenage girl’s lawyers, shortly after her arrest, referring to her young age and psychological and mental problems, requested from the court to replace her detention with bail, but the court had opposed her temporary release for months after her arrest.
Only a few weeks after Sahar Tabar’s arrest, her forced confessions were broadcast on Iranian state television, an action that also provoked multiple criticisms on virtual networks.
The United States has repeatedly condemned human rights violations in Iran. Mike Pompeo recently announced at a human rights roundtable that governments such as the Islamic Republic of Iran deprive people of their basic rights.
Source: Voice of America
