Poet and political activist Jafar Hassani sentenced to eight years in prison

Hengaw – Friday, June 19, 2026

Jafar Hassani, a poet and political activist from Qazvin who was arrested during the January 2026 protests, has been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Qazvin to a total of eight years in prison and a series of additional punishments.

Information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights shows that the Revolutionary Court of Qazvin recently sentenced Hassani to five years in prison on the fabricated charge of “inciting people to kill one another with the intent of disrupting national security,” two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and one year for “propaganda against the state,” bringing the total sentence to eight years.

Under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which governs the aggregation of sentences, only the most severe punishment, five years of imprisonment, would be enforceable if the verdict is upheld.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a two-year ban on leaving the country, six months of compulsory labor in the form of unpaid public service for the Qazvin Municipality, and the confiscation of his mobile phone and SIM card in favor of the state.

Hassani was arrested by Iranian government forces in Qazvin during the crackdown on the January 2026 protests and spent a period under interrogation and psychological pressure.