Justice for Iran

The attempts by Iran’s leadership to flex the country’s muscles on the world stage coincide with efforts to stamp out dissent at home ahead of planned parliamentary elections in March, the first ballot to be held since a disputed presidential vote in 2009 prompted national protests and a severe crackdown.

On Tuesday, an Iranian court sentenced Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, to six months in prison for spreading what it termed “propaganda against the Islamic system,” the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported. The court also barred her from engaging in any political, cultural or media activities for five years.

Last week, access to the Web site of Mr. Rafsanjani, who is widely perceived as having supported Mir Hussein Moussavi against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election, was blocked in Iran.

Ms. Hashemi, a former member of Parliament and an outspoken critic of Mr. Ahmadinejad, has been active in opposition politics; she was briefly detained last year after being accused of chanting antigovernment slogans during a banned rally in Tehran. She was also detained during a demonstration in 2009 over the disputed presidential election.

The government has prosecuted and convicted many opposition members since the 2009 street protests, but it has so far shied away from holding trials for Mr. Moussavi or Mehdi Karroubi, the principal opposition figures in Iran, who have been under house arrest for months.

While the Iranian leadership has offered assurances that reformist candidates will be permitted to run for office in the March elections, Mr. Moussavi and or Mr. Karroubi have urged their supporters to stay home.