CA:

An Iranian journalist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for "insulting" an imam from the ninth century on Twitter, his lawyer told local media on Monday (Aug 20).

Mir Mohammad-Hossein Mir-Esmaili, a journalist for the Jahan-e Sanat daily, was arrested while trying to leave the country in April 2017.

It followed a Twitter post in which he said Imam Reza, one of the 12 revered figures in Iran's dominant strand of Shiite Islam, was "one of us", implying that he would have allowed young people to enjoy themselves.

He made the statement as a criticism of Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, who has banned concerts in the holy city of Mashhad which is home to the Imam Reza shrine.

"Alamolhoda says that dancing and music is an insult to Imam Reza! Come on, don't lie, Imam Reza is one of us," wrote Mir-Esmaili in a tweet which is no longer available but was reprinted by numerous media.

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