Shabnam Shahrokhi and Ahmad Moin-Shirazi with their daughter

Two Instagram influencers have been given long prison sentences by a Revolutionary Court in Iran.

Husband and wife Ahmad Moin-Shirazi and Shabnam Shahrokhi, who post about Iranian lifestyle and sports, were condemned in absentia for “propaganda against the regime”, “spreading corruption and prostitution”, “injuring public decency”, and “spreading vulgar and obscene content”.

Moin-Shirazi, a former world kickboxing champion known as Picasso Moin, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Shahrokhi was given seven years in prison, 74 lashes, and three months of unpaid work for her municipality.

The couple left Iran in September 2019 after they were repeatedly summoned to the Intelligence Ministry, accused of espionage, warned about their social media activities, and detained for a day before being freed on bail.

They now live in Turkey with their two children. They have almost 1.5 million followers on their Instagram accounts.

Shahrokhi often posted photos of herself exercising or practicing kickboxing, alone or with Moin-Shirazi, in the family apartment in Tehran. She wrote about her pregnancy, her children, and sometimes social or political issues.

Moin-Shirazi also featured photos of sports and boxing practice, family pictures, and occasional comment on social and cultural issues. He participated in the global “Say No to Plastic” campaign and a local initiative, “Helping to Build a Better City for the Disabled”.

He wrote followers this week, “Our hearts are broken. We were really good citizens; we were not bad. If Iran does not want us, why should we insist on staying in Iran?”

In October, Instagram influencer Sahar Tabar was arrested. She is in prison after “confessing” on State TV to blasphemy.