Ahmadinejad's Press Adviser Sentenced to Prison for 'Publishing Materials Contrary to Islamic Norms

TEHRAN, Iran (The Blaze/AP) -- Iran's official news agency said Saturday the president's press adviser has been sentenced to a year in prison for "publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms."

He has also banned from journalism activities for three years.

Ali Akbar Javanfekr is just the latest of dozens of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political backers to be targeted by hard-line opponents. This appears to be part of an internal power struggle over influencing upcoming elections for parliament and for president in 2013.

Javanfekr wrote in an official publication that the practice of women wearing a head-to-toe black covering known as a chador was not originally an Iranian practice but was imported. This was considered offensive by hard-line Iranian clerics.

According U.S.-based Iranian community news site Pavyand, a press jury found Javanfekr guilty earlier this month of "contempt and insult to the female gender."

Javanfekr's articles, which appeared in a special August issue about Islamic attire, were reportedly also critical of forcing women to wear restrictive clothing and of deploying morality police on the streets, according to Pavyand.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jaffari Dowlatabadi reportedly said Javanfekr was "hurting public mores and morality."

Javanfekr has 20 days to appeal the sentence.