12 years behind bars for a tweet: The shocking case of Iranian activist Shanbehzadeh 

Hossein Shanbehzadeh, an Iranian writer and activist, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for tweeting a single dot in response to a tweet by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in May, according to reports from Iran International and Shargh News on Saturday.

Shanbehzadeh's simple reply gained more likes than Khamenei's original tweet, drawing significant attention and leading to his arrest a few weeks later, as reported by Iran International.

The literary editor, translator, and activist, who has an active presence on X, confirmed to his family in a phone call that he was arrested in Ardabil in June. At the time, Iran's judiciary announced that they had captured a "fugitive Mossad agent," which was later revealed to be Shanbehzadeh, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News.

Shanbehzadeh’s lawyer, Amir Raisian, explained to Shargh Network that the court sentenced him to five years in prison under Article 8 of the "Law on Countering the Hostile Actions of the Zionist Regime against Peace and Security," accusing him of pro-Israel propaganda. The court added four more years for "insulting Islamic sanctities," two years for "spreading lies and disturbing public thought," and an additional year for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic."

In addition to his prison sentence, Shanbehzadeh was fined 50 million rials, approximately $1200.