Iran’s judiciary announced on Sunday up to 10 years in prison for those who called for a strike as part of a months-long protest movement.
It is the first time a court has announced a prison sentence for sedition amid national protests sparked by the September death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
Court news website Mizan Online said the four defendants were jailed for between one and 10 years. He has not been identified and may still appeal the verdict.
Activists on social media have called for a three-day national strike starting December 5, in support of the movement that began with the death of Amini, 22. She has been arrested by moral police for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
Mojtaba Ghahramani, the head of justice for Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, said the four were punished mainly “for inciting drivers to strike”, and for vandalism. He was quoted by Mizan.
According to Ghahramani, “no one has been accused of being a driver or having anything to do with the transport sector.”
“One of the defendants was sentenced to 10 years in prison and the other to five years for forming a group with the aim of disrupting national security,” Ghahramani said.
The other two have been given a year in jail and a fine for “disrupting public order and destroying the window of the truck”, he said.
On December 5, local media reported that authorities closed a jewelry store and restaurant in Tehran owned by soccer legend Ali Daei, after he supported the protesters’ strike call.
Iranian authorities described the protests mostly as “riots” and accused hostile foreign countries of fueling the unrest.
Officials say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested since September 16.
On Saturday, four people, including two, were executed for killing and wounding members of the security forces in connection with the protests.