The couple was sentenced to 16 years in prison for sharing the photo on Instagram

New delhi date. 05 May 2020, Tuesday

A court in Iran has sentenced a couple to life in prison for sharing a photo on social media. Iran's Syed Ahmed Moin Shirazi and his wife Shabnam Shahrokhi have been sentenced by a court to 16 years in prison and 74 lashes.

However, the sentence was handed down at a time when the couple was not present in Iran. Because Shirazi and his wife left Iran in 2019 and went to Turkey. Sharing a picture without hijab, sharing a picture in Western clothes as well as speaking openly on political ideology has proved difficult for Shabnam. Notably, Shiraji is a social media influencer, former kick boxing champion and entrepreneur. A search of Shiraji's post revealed that his wife Shabnam has been accused of spreading anti-government propaganda and sharing pornographic images.

Checking Shiraji's Instagram revealed that he also has two children. "The government was trying to convict us, so we decided to leave Iran and stay in Turkey," Shirazi said of leaving Iran. Shirazi has been sentenced to nine years and his wife Shabnam to seven years in prison by an Iranian court. This carries a total sentence of 16 years. In addition to the prison sentence, the court also sentenced him to 74 lashes.