Can books be used for punishment?

In an unusual development, a judge in Tehran has sentenced prominent — and aging — political activist Abolfazl Ghadyani to copy three books by hand while serving his prison term.

The 74-year-old Ghadyani, who has been tortured and imprisoned both under the former shah and after the 1979 Revolution for his political activism, had been charged with insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and spreading propaganda against the establishment.

Iranian media reported on March 11 that Ghadyani had been given a three-year prison term. Two days earlier, his son announced in a tweet that the veteran activist was additionally sentenced to copy — by hand — three books. They are "The Story of Winter," a memoir of Iran-Iraq war prisoners by Saeed Akef; "The Story of Sistan," a book by Reza Amirkhani about Khamenei's visit to a poor province; and a book on Khamenei's views on "knowing the enemy," which is presumably a collection of the leader's speeches on the issue. Akef and Amirkhani are both novelists and generally categorized by their peers and the public as strongly committed to the values of the Islamic Revolution, namely those close to the establishment's. Amirkhani, a top-selling successful writer and literary editor, has, however, in recent years distanced himself from the hard-line camp in the country. "The Story of Sistan," which is among his early works, is an account of a visit by Khamenei to the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. Amirkhani, who accompanied the leader during the 10-day visit, registered his observations of the ayatollah's historic trip to the underprivileged province.

The sentencing of an outspoken critic of Khamenei to copy by hand the entire texts of these three books appears to be designed to better familiarize him with the literature that serves the ideals and principles of the Islamic Revolution. But not all state organs are onboard with the punishment.