It was a viral image of defiance at the very beginning ofmass proteststhat would shake Iran.
In late December last year, a figure in black sat hunched in the middle of one of Tehrans main streets, facing off against ranks of security forces on motorbikes.
The shaky video of the incident recalled the famous “Tank Man” protester on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, who single-handedly defied an armored column during pro-democracy protests in 1989 that were subsequently crushed by tanks.
In each case, it is not known what has happened to the lone protester.
But the man who shot the video in Tehran six months ago released a new video on June 1 confirming that, tomorrow, he will go to jail.
Im going to prison tomorrow so my 10-year sentence can start, Masud Piyahu said in his video.
The one thing I want to say is that I never denied that I filmed that scene that day on Jomhuri (Republic) street. But I had nothing to do with its spread and I never intended that video to be shared. Heres hoping for better days, he added.
