Activists say #HBDSaeed, call for Iranian prisoner’s release

Human rights activists worldwide marked the 39th birthday of Iranian national Saeed Malekpour, taking to social media Thursday to offer well wishes and demanding his immediate release from prison. A permanent resident of Canada who worked as a web developer, Malekpour was arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 2008 during a visit to Tehran.  

Charged with “insulting and desecrating Islam” for allegedly managing a network of pornographic websites, Iran’s Supreme Court originally gave Malekpour the death sentence before commuting it to life imprisonment in 2012. Malekpour originally claimed innocence, saying a software program he created for a client was used without his knowledge to post pornographic images. He later confessed to wrongdoing, however, allegedly under pressure by Iranian authorities.

Supporters sent birthday wishes using #HBDSaeed and #SaeedMalekpour: