USA: Golrokh Iraee, a well-known activist and journalist who has been detained since her arrest at the start of a protest movement, has been sentenced by an Iranian appeals court to five years in prison, according to supporters.

According to rights organisations, Iraee declined to participate in the appeals court hearing regarding her sentence for participating in illegal gatherings and violating national security by claiming she did not recognise the court's legitimacy.

She was detained last September during a police raid on her home, which marked the beginning of the protest movement in response to the passing of Mahsa Amini, who was being held on suspicion of disobeying the strict dress codes for women at the time.

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According to a Twitter account run by her supporters, "Golrokh Iraee, who been in Evin prison for 280 days, was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment" by the Tehran court.

She was initially given a seven-year sentence in April by the court of first instance.

Iraee, the activist Arash Sadeghi's wife, is well known for her campaigns on issues like stoning sentences and prison conditions. Arash Sadeghi was also detained during the protest movement but has since been released.

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Over the past few months, as the protests' fervour lessened, some activists who had been detained during Iran's crackdown on the protest movement were freed.

The award-winning Narges Mohammadi, the labour rights activist Sepideh Gholian, and the environmental activists Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani, however, are still imprisoned.

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Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two other female journalists detained since September, did the bulk of the reporting on the Mahsa Amini case. They are currently being tried in Tehran on charges related to national security.