The son of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani began a 10-year prison term for financial crimes, including embezzlement, and security offenses.
Mehdi Hashemi presented himself to Tehran’s Evin prison on August 9 while insisting that the case against him was politically motivated.
He told journalists in front of the notorious prison that his conviction was "neither fair nor legal" but he hoped "to protect and defend the integrity" of his father.
His trial was held behind closed doors.
"I demand once again that state television broadcast my court hearings fully," Hashemi said on August 9.
Hashemi was accused of inciting unrest after Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election. He he was arrested in 2012 upon his return from Britain.
Rafsanjani, who served as Iran's president from 1989 to 1997, has suggested that the sentence against Hashemi is an attempt to pressure him.
