Iranian café chain boss sentenced to over 12 years in prison for supporting January protests

An Iranian café chain boss has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and had all his property confiscated by the state for supporting the January protests, in one of the harshest sentences handed down to an entrepreneur in connection with the unrest.

Sadegh Saeedinia, manager of the Saeedinia café chain, was convicted on charges including "media and propaganda activities against national security," "conducting propaganda against the system," and "taking operational action on behalf of hostile groups."

He will also be barred from working in the café sector for two years after his release.

The charges relate to posting material about the protests on Instagram, backing calls for strikes, shutting down the group's cafes and shops and encouraging staff to participate in demonstrations.

The judiciary also described Saeedinia — the son of businessman Mohammad Saeedinia, founder of the Saeedinia food group — as an "instigator" of protests in Qom and linked him to the destruction of public and private property.

No independent evidence establishing a direct connection between his activities and any physical damage has been made public.

The case is part of a broader campaign targeting his family. Before his son's conviction, Mohammad Saeedinia had already faced judicial action, after his cafes and restaurants were shut down and some branches sealed.

Fars News Agency claimed his assets were worth roughly the same as the financial damage inflicted on Tehran during the protests.

In a subsequent letter, Mohammad Saeedinia described the closures as "a mistake," apologised to the public and expressed obedience to the ayatollah. Several social media users described the letter as written under duress.

Property confiscation as a political tool

Iran has sharply expanded its use of asset confiscation as a tool of political pressure, a practice that has changed in form and scope over more than four decades.

The policy began in 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the confiscation of property belonging to the Pahlavi family and officials of the former regime, with the stated aim of redistributing assets to the poor.

Over subsequent decades it was extended to cover entrepreneurs, political opponents, artists, activists and religious minorities.

Article 49 of the constitution created a formal judicial mechanism for seizing property deemed "illicit," and a significant share of confiscated assets passed to bodies operating under the authority of the ayatollah.

The Headquarters for Executing the Order of Imam Khomeini, known as Setad, is among the most prominent of these structures, and its name has appeared in cases involving confiscated property including the real estate of Baha'i citizens.

Since the January protests, confiscation has expanded further. In April, the Tehran prosecutor announced that orders had been issued to identify and seize the assets and freeze the bank accounts of more than 100 prominent figures living abroad, described as supporters of the enemy.

On the same day, authorities issued orders to freeze the accounts of 63 managers and employees of Iran International and 25 managers and employees of Manoto TV in London.

Ali Sharifi Zarchi, a former professor at Sharif University who had publicly said "Khamenei is not my leader" after the protests, was also on the list.

Later reports described the seizure of property belonging to more than 400 media and cultural figures abroad. Prosecutors in Semnan and Hamedan reported simultaneous seizures in their jurisdictions.

Several prominent athletes have also been targeted. Cases have been opened or assets threatened against former international footballers Ali Karimi and Sardar Azmoun, Iranian-Australian referee Alireza Faghani, former Esteghlal captain Voria Ghafouri and Ali Daei, considered one of the greatest players in Iranian football history.

Semi-official media linked to the IRGC have mounted sustained smear campaigns against several of them.

Death toll still unclear

The January protests erupted after the collapse of the Iranian rial and spread to more than 180 cities.

Iranian officials have acknowledged that more than 3,100 people were killed during the crackdown but say most victims were security personnel or bystanders killed by what they describe as US and Israeli-backed terrorists.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran put the death toll at a minimum of 5,000. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had verified 6,854 deaths, the majority of them protesters, while other human rights groups and insiders in Iran estimate the number could be as high as 32,000.

In his latest public comments, US President Donald Trump claimed nearly 65,000 protesters had been killed — a figure that far exceeds any other estimate and has not been substantiated by independent monitoring organisations.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has condemned the suppression of protesters and described the treatment of dissidents by Iranian authorities as a brutal deprivation of rights.