Iranian man handed 10-year prison sentence for filming Viral protest video

An Iranian man has been sentenced to ten years in prison after filming a viral video of a lone demonstrator blocking military forces, a clip that captured global attention during the country's economic protests.

The defendant, Masoud Payahoo, was convicted by Iranian authorities of allegedly collaborating with Israel after capturing the powerful scene on his phone.

The video, which circulated widely across international social media platforms, showed a defiant protester sitting in the middle of a street, using his body to block a convoy of armed security forces riding motorcycles.

The harsh ruling was recently upheld by Branch 9 of Iran's Supreme Court.

The case has now been referred for enforcement, meaning Payahoo must report to prison to serve out his decade-long sentence.

Payahoo’s defense lawyer, Hassan Aghakhani, strongly disputed the state's espionage-related accusations.

Aghakhani emphasized that his client had acted entirely on impulse when he began recording the demonstration.

Furthermore, the lawyer maintained that Payahoo never intended to broadcast the footage globally.

Instead, he had only shared the video with a small group of personal friends via a private Instagram story, meaning the footage was never meant for public distribution.

However, the court rejected these arguments, moving forward with the heavy sentence as part of a wider legal crackdown on demonstrators and those documenting the unrest.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓