Kian Tajbakhsh, an American-Iranian academic, was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison on 20 October for his alleged role in anti-government protests following President Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election. He was arrested on 9 July, and was the only US citizen detained in the government’s post-election crackdown. Despite appeals for his release, notably from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Tajbakhsh received the longest prison sentence yet handed down in the mass trial of more than 100 opposition individuals. Tajbakhsh’s lawyer plans to appeal the conviction. (Guardian, BBC)