Prominent Iranian online retailer Digikala has been charged with publishing "insulting images of the sacred" over some of the products it offers to its customers.
The judiciary's official news agency, Mizan, on February 8 said the Tehran Prosecutor's Office filed the charges against Digikala's website. It did not provide details about the images in question, but some social media users circulated pictures of mugs sold by the retailer that are inscribed with the name "Fatima Zahra."
Fatima Zahra was the daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, although it is not clear if the name on these mugs refers to her specifically as it is a widely used name for girls in religious Iranian families.
The news comes one day after the Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, published a report highlighting criticism of products advertised on the online store.
Tasnim said it was "unclear which responsible and supervisory entity considers itself obligated to address this norm-breaking behavior" and called on "judicial and supervisory bodies" to "use other tools that increase the deterrent against committing these acts, in addition to the usual and customary leniencies."
In July, Digikala's administrative building was sealed by Tehran's Morality Police after images showing Digikala's female employees without their mandatory Islamic hijabs circulated on social media.
In a statement published by Digikala on February 9, the company apologized for any "allegations of insulting the sacred" and said it will implement oversight measures to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.
Some people on social media defended Digikala noting that many individuals in Iran bear religious names and that writing the name "Fatima Zahra" on a mug does not necessarily have to be connected to the daughter of the Islamic prophet.
Insulting Islam in Iran can result in the death penalty.
In 2023, Iran executed two men, Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, who had been sentenced to death for using social media to promote "atheism and insulting religious and Islamic sanctities."