'They Destroyed His Family': Iran Sentences Engineer Over Instagram Posts

An Iranian software engineer faces a decade in prison on espionage charges after posting workplace selfies on Instagram and seeking justice for a friend killed during the country’s 2022 protests.

Mostafa Mohebi, 37, was sentenced to 10 years and two days by Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in northern Rasht after intelligence agents arrested him in January 2023.

The charges included espionage for foreign states, membership in a monarchist opposition group, and photographing military sites

However, according to sources close to the case and legal experts, the evidence consisted primarily of Instagram posts showing the electrical substation where Mohebi worked as an engineer - a facility that displayed no signs prohibiting photography and is not considered a military installation.

“Photographing prohibited places is an independent crime and cannot be equated with espionage,” said Mousa Barzin, a jurist and legal advisor to IranWire. 

He added, "Apart from the fact that there must be a sign prohibiting photography. If there's no guard and no sign, how should a person know?"

The case highlights how Iranian authorities have systematically targeted protesters in small towns since the 2022 demonstrations, using fabricated charges and sustained pressure campaigns to silence dissent and destroy the lives of those who spoke out

Judge Ahmad Darvish-Goftar handed down the sentence, which was later upheld in full by Branch 11 of the Gilan Province Court of Appeals, headed by Mohammad Sadegh Iran-Aghideh.

The chain of events leading to Mohebi’s imprisonment began on September 21, 2022, when his neighbor, 28-year-old Seyed Abbas Mir-Mousavi, was shot dead during protests in Langrud, a coastal city in Gilan Province.

The demonstrations had swept across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

According to human rights sources, security forces killed Mir-Mousavi with live ammunition. He left behind a young daughter.

Mir-Mousavi was the brother of Mohebi’s best friend. In response, Mohebi began posting stories and messages on social media demanding justice for his slain neighbor.

Colleagues at the government-affiliated power plant where he worked warned him to stop, according to a source close to the case who spoke to IranWire.

“He said, ‘If everyone is scared, nothing will happen,’” the source recalled. “That’s why they became sensitive toward him, and that’s how these things happened to him.”

On January 3, 2023, intelligence agents arrested Mohebi at his home. His seven-year-old daughter watched as they took her father away.

The espionage and military photography charges centered on Mohebi’s Instagram posts showing the electrical substation where he worked.

Prosecutors cited a list from 1985, during the Iran-Iraq war, designating certain locations as sensitive.

“Even the Rudsar prosecutor said there was no sign there,” the source said. “But they pulled out a list from 1985. Mostafa hadn’t even been born then. So, how was he supposed to know he couldn’t take photos or selfies there?”

The group membership charge stemmed from his subscription to a Telegram channel associated with the Tondar Monarchist Association, an opposition group.

Authorities also interrogated him for hours about following BBC Persian and Iran International channels for news, sources said.

Barzin said that following Telegram channels or Instagram pages cannot legally constitute membership in an organization.

“There is so much lawlessness in these cases that it defies explanation,” Barzin said. “It’s completely obvious that what this gentleman and others convicted on similar charges did was not illegal.”

He added that revolutionary courts have aligned themselves with security agencies rather than maintaining judicial independence, particularly since 2022.

“In security cases, legal matters are no longer considered and they proceed with revenge and suppression,” Barzin said.

During a month-long detention in solitary confinement at the Rasht Intelligence Office, Mohebi faced severe psychological pressure designed to extract a forced confession.

Interrogators threatened to arrest his daughter, then in first grade, if he didn’t confess, the source told IranWire.

“They threatened him, saying, ‘If you don’t confess, we’ll go to your daughter’s school and arrest her,’” the source said.

The intimidation extended beyond interrogation. When authorities prepared to return Mohebi’s confiscated car, they insisted his wife collect it.

Officers then presented her with pills, spray, and condoms, claiming they had been found in her husband’s vehicle - an apparent attempt to damage the marriage.

When Mohebi’s daughter needed surgery, he repeatedly requested leave to give consent and be present. Authorities denied every request.

“His wife separated from him for these reasons,” the source said. “They really destroyed his family.”

The marriage ended. Mohebi, who had maintained steady savings before his arrest, now struggles to cover daily expenses. He hasn’t seen his daughter in three months.

Mohebi is currently held at Gaskar Mahalleh Prison in Rudsar, where sources describe inhumane conditions.

The prison, formerly a poultry farm, holds around 150 prisoners in a space designed for 90, with no separation between different categories of crimes. The converted warehouse has only three toilets and three showers for the entire population.

Before reaching prison, Mohebi spent more than two months in temporary detention because prosecutors in different cities disagreed on whether meetings should be held in person or via videoconference.

Authorities set bail at 1 billion tomans - roughly $9,260 at current market rates, though exchange rates remain volatile.

When Mohebi entered prison in September 2023 to begin serving his sentence, authorities forced his father to pledge that if his son failed to return from any leave within four days, they would imprison the father instead.

Mohebi is currently on leave to care for his parents. His mother suffered a broken neck in an accident, his father injured his vertebrae, and his grandmother recently died.

But coordination failures between prison and court officials, along with mysteriously disappearing leave authorization letters, led the prison to mark Mohebi as absent without leave, sources said.

He now faces possible flogging and disciplinary imprisonment for absences that were not his fault, according to sources - another form of psychological torture.

Meanwhile, authorities continue pressuring him to become an informant, the source added.

“He has reached the point of suicide many times,” the source said, adding that Mohebi has described himself as a “walking dead man” who believes authorities will broadcast his forced confessions after his death.

Mohebi’s case fits a documented pattern of Iranian security forces targeting protesters in smaller cities, where community ties are strong and visibility is high.

Yasin Seifpanahi, a 20-year-old wrestler from Dehgolan arrested during the 2022 protests, took his own life last week.

Hossein Bidaki, an Iran-Iraq war veteran who joined the protests, faced relentless pressure from security agents through calls and threats. He began wandering the roads to avoid re-arrest and died in a traffic accident.

IranWire has documented how security forces in small towns use sustained campaigns to destroy protesters, using legal prosecution as one of many tools designed to devastate every aspect of a target’s life.

Barzin questioned the severity of the charges even if Mohebi had photographed and shared images of the electrical substation.

“What importance does an electrical substation really have, that he would photograph and take it elsewhere?” Barzin asked.

He said the classified information charge made no sense in Mohebi’s case.

“The organization itself defines what is confidential and secret,” he said. “Anyone cannot simply declare something classified.”

Revolutionary courts in Iran operate separately from the regular judicial system and handle cases involving national security, including protests and political dissent.

Critics say the courts lack due process protections and frequently issue harsh sentences based on vague charges.

For Mohebi, the cost has been total. The software engineer who once maintained savings for his family now struggles to afford necessities.

“Someone who always had small savings before his arrest is now worried about his daily expenses,” the source told IranWire. “He had a relatively normal life. Why did you destroy it?”