Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals has upheld the 1-year prison sentence handed to Iranian film actress Elnaz Shakerdoost over a "story" she posted on her personal account after the events of Dey 1404 (January 2026). According to Hamshahri, her lawyer, Houshang Pourbabaei, shared the ruling and details of the case with the public.
According to Pourbabaei, Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had sentenced Shakerdoost to 1 year in prison on a charge of "propaganda activity against the system," and, as a supplementary penalty, had also barred her from political, online and artistic activities for 2 years. "The reason my client was punished is nothing more than a story she posted on her personal page, which contained nothing but a sincere expression of grief over the deaths of the young people of this land," the lawyer said. Pourbabaei argued that nowhere in the posted text was there any reference to the state, the government, officials or any institutional body, and that the text contained no call for collective action, no invitation to organized action and no statement aimed at regime change.
Despite the appeal against the lower court's ruling, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals upheld the prison sentence and the ban. "The law does not consider mourning the deaths of a country's people a crime; this is simply a humanity that no court can condemn," Pourbabaei said, adding that they would pursue his client's rights at the Supreme Court.
The lawyer also commented on Shakerdoost's stance: "As far as I know her, courage and decency are among this artist's clear traits; silence and taking the easy way out are not the style of artists who stand with the people." Pourbabaei stressed that he would continue to defend his client's rights throughout the legal process.
How the Persian press covered it
Hamshahri, which is close to the Tehran municipality, and the economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad ran the story with largely the same text, under a "prison sentence issued" headline and focusing on the lawyer's statements. The opposition, diaspora outlet Iran International reported the same event with an emphasis on "upheld on appeal," stating more clearly that the decision was a higher court's confirmation of a lower court ruling. All three outlets reported the grounds for the sentence, the name of the charge and the lawyer's statements in the same way; there is no contradiction in the core elements of the story.
Context
The Dey 1404 (January 2026) protests drew attention with clashes between security forces and demonstrators in various Iranian cities and were followed by the detention of hundreds of people. After the events, artists and public figures who posted on social media were also tried on charges of "propaganda against the system" or similar counts. Shakerdoost became one of the well-known figures convicted in this context.
The opposition outlet Iran International reports that, in the same period, some of those arrested in connection with the Dey protests were sentenced to prison and, in some cases, to death; this information has not been confirmed by independent sources and is separate from the judicial process that is the subject of this story. Shakerdoost's case offers a concrete example of how freedom of expression and the charge of "propaganda against the system" are applied in Iran's judiciary; according to her lawyer, the case will now be pursued at the Supreme Court.
