Fatemeh Khishvand, 19, posted heavily distorted photos of herself on social media. According to her lawyer, she is now sentenced to 10 years in prison in her home country of Iran, writes The Guardian.

An Iranian woman is sentenced to prison for her photographs on social media. Stock Photography.Image: Naina Helén Jåma / TT

Khishvand, who called herself Sahar Tabar as an influencer, became known for posting creepy, zombie-like selfies on Instagram, where at one point she had hundreds of thousands of followers. She was arrested in October 2019 and charged with blasphemy, corruption of youth, and disrespect for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the spring, Khishvand applied for release when he was reportedly showing symptoms of covid-19, the BBC reports. In an appeal to actress Angelina Jolie, whom the 19-year-old seemed to mimic in some of her photographs, she asked the outside world for help.

– The Islamic Republic has a history of torturing women. We must unite against this gender discrimination, Khishvand said at the time.

Shortly after the arrest last year, Iranian state television broadcast a video of Khishvand reading a possible forced confession. The report described the teenager as “a victim with a deviant personality and mental state” who sought “vulgarity” on social media.

Khishvand is the latest in a long list of Iranian influencers who have been severely punished for their presence on social media. Among other things, several young Iranians have been arrested after posting videos of them dancing, according to the BBC.

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Teen sentenced to 10 years in prison for selfies

Teen sentenced to 10 years in prison for selfies

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