Masoud Piyaho, the photographer behind an image that became widely known during public protests in Iran and earned the nickname “Iran’s Tank Man,” has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court in the country.
Hassan Aghakhani, Masoud Piyaho’s lawyer, told the Emtedad News Agency that the sentence has entered the enforcement stage and, after being upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, is now close to being carried out.
Piyaho’s case is linked to an image showing a protester sitting in front of special police forces near the Alaeddin Shopping Center in Tehran. The image received widespread attention in both media outlets and social networks and became one of the most recognizable photographs of the protests in Iran.
According to his lawyer, Piyaho’s arrest stems from events related to economic protests in Tehran’s bazaar last year. He explained that his client was working at the time of the incident and recorded a short video showing a protester confronting security forces.
Aghakhani emphasized that the video was shared only in the private section of Piyaho’s Instagram account and was visible to a limited number of friends. He added that Piyaho had no intention of distributing it outside the country.
After one frame from the video was published, the image quickly spread across domestic and international media. Many users and news outlets referred to the unidentified protester as “Iran’s Tank Man” and compared the scene to the famous image of a lone citizen standing in front of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen Square events in China.
Piyaho’s lawyer stated that the 10-year prison sentence was issued under Iran’s law on the “intensification of punishment for espionage and cooperation with the Zionist regime.” According to him, the ruling was also upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court and is now in the implementation stage.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
