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A 20-year-old woman in Iran, Saba Kord Afshari, is being sentenced to 24 years for protesting against wearing a hijab.

A hijab is a head scarf that covers a woman’s hair and neck and is worn by some Muslim women in public.

According to FIDH, an international human rights NGO that serves in about 112 countries, Afshari is one of the many activists who have been protesting against the mandatory hijab laws in Iran on social media.

Global News spoke with Bijan Baharan, a researcher for Iran with FIDH.

“The issue,” he says, “is that the Iranian authorities do not want to give a free hand to women to wear as they wish [the] clothes they wish and to behave on the street as they like.

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“A lot of women are ignoring these rules and the authorities are tolerating them as long as these actions are not so much publicized on social networks.”

But that’s not the case with Afshari, who decided to speak out on the subject through social media. The video caught many people’s eyes.

Saba Kordafshari n'a que 20ans, elle a été condamnée à 24 ans de prison. Son crime, refuser le port obligatoire du hijab. Quel est ce silence des médias? https://t.co/pL9DhDkrXF @AlinejadMasih pic.twitter.com/0KErPWVXiA — L'important (@Limportant_fr) September 1, 2019

According to FIDH, Afshari was then arrested in June 2019 for voicing her opinions against the mandatory hijab laws on social media.

On August 27, Afshari’s lawyer received a notice from the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, stating that Afshari has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

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Out of her sentence, 15 years are for “encouraging people to commit immorality and/or prostitution,” seven years and six months for “gathering and collusion against internal or external security” and one year and six months for “spreading propaganda against the system.”

“There is an article of the law which says that when somebody is sentenced to three or more offences, they will serve only the highest sentence,” Baharan said.

“So among these three which I mentioned, 15 years are the highest.”

Afshari’s lawyer has 20 days since he last heard from the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran to respond with an appeal in court. Baharan tells Global News that Afshari’s lawyer will be making an appeal.

“I am deeply sad to say that I expect the sentence to be upheld,” Baharan adds.

Afshari’s fate currently rests in the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Court. She will either be let go, free of her sentence, or she may be spending 15 years in prison.

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