Outspoken Iranian Academic Handed Prison Term over Tweet

An Iranian court has sentenced prominent university professor and political analyst Sadegh Zibakalam to one year in prison for a tweet criticizing the government's response to a wave of poisonings at girls’ school.  

Zibakalam said that Branch 1057 of Tehran Criminal Court sentenced him on June 27 for "spreading lies with the intention of manipulating public opinion." 

The conviction and sentence can be appealed.

Many activists have faced imprisonment for protesting over poison attacks that have sickened thousands of schoolgirls since they were first reported in November last year.

During the peak of the attacks, Zibakalam wrote a tweet saying: "In 1979, we firmly believed that the system that replaced the imperial system was superior not only to the humanism of the West but also to the socialism of the East. It was envisioned as a new model for humanity."  

"If someone had told us…that 44 years later, girls would fall victim to poisoning, what would our response have been?" he added. 

Iranian officials have announced the arrest of several individuals in connection to the poisonings.