Abdolreza Tajik, an Iranian journalist and human rights activist, has been sentenced to six years in prison for "membership in illegal groups" and "propaganda against the regime."
The Human Rights Reporters Committee reports that Tajik was officially sentenced yesterday.
Defence lawyer Mohammad Shariff says his client was sentenced to five years for membership in the Human Rights Defenders Centre, even though Tajik cannot really be considered a member. Furthermore, Shariff says the Human Rights Defenders Centre has not been officially labeled an illegal organization.
In addition to the aforementioned charges, Abdolreza Tajik is also accused of "publishing falsehoods in order to inflame public opinion." The court has not yet issued a sentence related to that charge.
Tajik was arrested in the protests that arose to challenge the disputed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. He was jailed for 44 days and then arrested twice more. His latest release came after seven months in prison and the posting of $500,000 in bail.
In the post-election protests, thousands of people were arrested in order to quell the unrest, with journalists and activists commonly targeted.
