Iran Sentences 8 Facebook Users to Combined 123 Years in Jail

An Iranian court has sentenced eight people to a combined 123 years in prison for various charges including insulting the country's supreme leader on Facebook. The sentencing is the latest in a recent crackdown on Internet freedom in the country.

The eight, who were reportedly all Facebook users, were arrested last year by the Cyber Unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Revolutionary Court in Tehran doled out prison sentences ranging from seven to 20 years for charges of blasphemy, propaganda against the Iranian state, spreading lies, and insulting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The arrests were first reported by the opposition news agency Kaleme. Read more...