On the 6th of May 2018, he attended the district criminal court where he was prosecuted for the charge of “Defamation of Officials”. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to 74 lashes.

Prior to this, on the 30th of November 2017, Sepahi-Laein was summoned to the court regarding an article he had written, titled, “Ignorance, More Powerful than a Flood”, under the charges of “Dissemination of False Information” and “Disturbing Public Peace”. Due to his failure to attend the court session, Judge Nazari ordered his arrest and he was transferred to Vakilabad Prison shortly after. He was released on bail on the 9th of December 2017.

Sepahi-Laein is a well-known poet among Kurds in northern Khorasan. In addition to his collaboration with local papers, he has published more than ten literary and poetry books in both Persian and Kurdish.

It is worth mentioning that Sepahi-Laein has several other counts of interrogation, detainment, and arrest in his resumé. On July 30th 2011, he was detained by intelligence agents in Mashhad due to an alleged communication with the opposing Kurdish parties. This incident ended with his release on bail. In February 2014, Judge Soltani sentenced Sepahi-Laein to eleven months imprisonment, a five-year ban ban on journalistic activities, and a fine. He spent eight months in jail.