Afsaneh Bayegan, a cinema and television actress, has been sentenced by Branch 1097 of the Criminal Court Two at the Ershad Judicial Complex to pay a fine of two million and five hundred thousand tomans. She has also been banned from using social media and leaving the country.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, this verdict was issued following the accusation of “posting vulgar images.”
Mohammadreza Etesam, Ms. Bayegan’s lawyer, stated that his client has also been sentenced to 91 days of imprisonment, which can be substituted by paying the fine.
In addition to the main punishments, Ms. Bayegan has been sentenced to an 18-month ban on any social media activity and is prohibited from leaving the country.
Ms. Bayegan’s defense lawyer believes that the images posted by his client do not legally qualify as “vulgar” and that the additional punishments issued are not proportional to the committed offense.
In the court session, the main accusation against Ms. Bayegan was the posting of photos on Instagram.
It is worth noting that this is not the first conviction of Afsaneh Bayegan for not complying with hijab regulations and for her activities on social media.
Recently, the Tehran Police Information Center reported another legal case against Afsaneh Bayegan for “removing her hijab at the Atilla Pessiani memorial ceremony.”
In July last year, this actress was also sentenced to two years of imprisonment for not adhering to the “mandatory hijab,” but this sentence was suspended for five years.
At the end of July 2023, Elmira Nouri Zeinal, another defense lawyer for Ms. Bayegan, reported the enforcement of a non-final verdict against her client, which included the disconnection of her SIM card and her summoning to the public security police.
Ms. Bayegan previously reported being summoned to court for “displaying an object contrary to public decency and morality.”