Iranian Blogger Sentenced to Prison for Alleged ‘Pro-Israel Propaganda’

Iranian social media activist Donya Hosseini has been ordered to begin serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence on charges of anti-state propaganda, marking the latest case in Iran’s ongoing crackdown on online dissent.

Hosseini revealed on social media that authorities summoned her on November 30 to report to the judicial enforcement branch to commence her sentence. The following day, officials imposed a travel ban, effectively preventing her from leaving the country while her case proceeds.

The 35-year-old blogger, who operated on Instagram under the name “Donya Azad,” was specifically convicted of “propaganda against the system in the direction of strengthening the Zionist regime” – a serious charge in the Islamic Republic that often targets individuals accused of supporting Israel.

According to Hosseini’s account, her case progressed through Iran’s judicial system with unusual speed and minimal due process. Branch 26 of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, under Judge Iman Afshari, issued the original verdict. When challenged, Branch 36 upheld the decision on appeal without modifications. Hosseini claims her case bypassed standard police investigation protocols and was sent directly to the Revolutionary Court, where her defense arguments were allegedly ignored.

This isn’t Hosseini’s first encounter with Iranian authorities. The Tehran resident, originally from Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, was previously detained at the notorious Evin prison for approximately four months before being released in 2023. That detention began on August 12, 2023, when security forces arrested her and confiscated electronic devices and personal notes.

The current sentence appears to be the culmination of mounting legal pressure over several years. Hosseini described facing three separate cases since 2022. The first case that year concluded without prosecution. In 2023, she received a five-year suspended sentence and a fine in a second case. A third case related to Iran’s mandatory hijab laws also ended without formal charges.

Hosseini’s imprisonment comes at a particularly difficult time in her life, as she had spent the past year preparing to open a café – plans that will now be disrupted by her incarceration.

Her case is emblematic of Iran’s broader campaign against social media activists, which intensified following the nationwide protests that erupted across Iran in 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody. Those protests, which represented one of the most significant challenges to the Islamic Republic in recent years, led to thousands of arrests and a renewed crackdown on dissent across digital platforms.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for their lack of independence, summary proceedings, and harsh sentences against activists, journalists, and dissidents. These specialized courts, established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, handle cases considered threats to national security and have been widely condemned for failing to meet international fair trial standards.

Iran ranks among the world’s most restrictive countries for internet freedom, with authorities regularly blocking social media platforms, monitoring online activity, and targeting influencers who reach significant audiences. The government has increasingly viewed online activism as a threat to state security, particularly when it challenges official narratives or appears sympathetic to Iran’s geopolitical adversaries.

As Hosseini prepares to begin her sentence, her case adds to growing concerns about the shrinking space for free expression in Iran and the personal cost paid by those who navigate its boundaries on social media.