Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who was once accused of being part of a “deviant current” in the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration, has been sentenced to six years and six months for “acting against national security.” He joins Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a former media adviser who was just sentenced to four years in prison, and a handful of other Ahmadinejad-era Cabinet members who received prison sentences.

According to Gholamhossein Ismaeli, chief prosecutor for Tehran province, Mashaei received five years for actions against national security, one year for propaganda against the government and six months for insulting judiciary officials. Ismaeli, who is also head of the appellate court for Tehran province, said the judiciary is still reviewing other charges against Mashaei.

Mashaei did not hire an attorney or defend himself in court, claiming that he did not recognize its authority. Mashaei claims his verdict was predetermined. Video of the court case, which was released Aug. 25 to a number of media outlets and state TV by the judiciary, at one point shows an angry Mashaei throwing his shirt at an individual in the courtroom.

Mashaei served in Ahmadinejad’s first term as head of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization, a relatively minor role that masks his profound influence on the former hard-line president and their long history. Mashaei was a former intelligence officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the province of Kurdistan in the 1980s when he met Ahmadinejad, who was then a local governor. The two have been close since and became related when their children married each other.