THE HAGUE—It’s quite a difference, 11 versus 30 years behind bars. The lawyer of the Iranian-Dutch activist Abdullah al Mansouri was present at his court hearing in Iran, and he’s certain: Al Mansouri received an 11 year sentence.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Sunday that Al Mansouri was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Al Mansouri’s son Adnan, a Maastricht resident, and Amnesty International each reported he’d received thirty years. But Al Mansouri’s lawyer Dadkhah, a colleague of the human rights lawyer and Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, said he’d been sentenced to eleven years’ imprisonment for “propaganda against the system.”

“Al Mansouri was sentenced based on testimony from his wife,” according to Dadkhah. He said that statements made by his wife after their escape to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) formed most of the evidence in the case. “This wasn’t a fair process since he isn’t responsible for what his wife claims.”

His son didn’t want to give a reaction. A spokesperson for Amnesty International speculated that Al Mansouri might receive a combination of prison time and house arrest, which could add up to 30 years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that the Iranian government had informed them that he’d received a 30 year sentence.

“It’s absolutely unclear to me why the court is so receptive to statements made by Al Manouri’s wife, who reportedly lives in Iraq,” said Dadkhah in an interview. “I have no further information of her activities.”

Al Mansouri’s son Adnan (35) stated on several occasions that his father would get the death penalty. He also said that the Dutch government would have to pay Iran 70,000 euros for a stay of execution.

The punishment for “propaganda against the government,” a general accusation in Iran for a range of offences, is less severe than for terrorism, which was the initial charge against Al Mansouri, according to his lawyer. Prisoners often serve a shorter jail time than originally sentenced in Iran.

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