18-year-old photographer Shaghayegh Afshar Najafi sentenced to nine years in prison

Hengaw – Friday, August 7, 2026

Shaghayegh Afshar Najafi, an 18-year-old photographer, artist, and student living in Qazvin, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to nine years in prison, five years of which are enforceable.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 2 of the Qazvin Revolutionary Court sentenced Afshar Najafi to nine years in prison, a two-year travel ban, six months of unpaid community service for Qazvin Municipality, and permanent disqualification from public and government employment. The court also ordered the confiscation of her mobile phone, SIM card, and laptop in favor of the state.

Under Iran’s sentence consolidation law, the five-year prison term is enforceable, with time already spent in detention credited toward her sentence.

Afshar Najafi was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” three years for “cooperation with hostile states,” and one year for “propaganda against the state.” The latter charge relates to online activity described by authorities as against national security and support for Israel, including sending photographs and video footage to Iran International.

An IRGC Intelligence report and Afshar Najafi’s participation in the January protests were cited among the evidence used by the court to convict her.

Afshar Najafi was arrested at her home by Iranian security forces on February 14, 2026. She was initially taken to an Intelligence Department detention facility and transferred one day later to Choubindar Prison in Qazvin.

She was subsequently released temporarily on bail of 1.5 billion tomans pending the completion of judicial proceedings.