Iran jails woman for 12 years because she drew critical cartoons of politicians who restricted female birth control

An Iranian artist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for drawing satirical cartoons of politicians who decided to restrict women's access to birth control.

Atena Farghadani was on trial at Tehran's so-called Revolutionary Court for 'insulting members of parliament through paintings' in relation to an illustration depicting government officials as animals.
The trial was held on May 19 but she only received the verdict and prison sentence this week.
Although the 28-year-old has been given 12 years and nine months in jail, experts believe this far exceeds the legal limit for such a crime, which currently stands at seven years and six months.

Ms Farghadani has been held in solitary confinement at Tehran's Evin prison since her arrest last August and is only allowed to receive one visitor a week.
She was bailed for a short time last November, but was quickly returned to jail after being accused of openly discussing the torture and beatings she suffered at the hands of the wardens.
Ms Farghadani even went as far as to publish a YouTube video discussing her treatment in prison, and posted an open letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on her Facebook page upon being returned to her cell.

The judge who handed down the harsh prison sentence, Abolghassem Salavati, is known as 'Iran's hanging judge' or 'the judge of death' in his country thanks to his reputation for harsh punishments.
He is particularly notorious for handing out harsh sentences to journalists, artists, bloggers and political activists, making his named in the aftermath of the street protests that were brutally crushed during Iran's 2009 general election.