ISNA said the policeman was sentenced to three years in jail, 74 lashes and two years of internal exile in the remote southern town of Borazjan. The prison time was for assaulting Beheshti and the lashes were for insulting and cursing the blogger. ISNA quoted Giti Pourfazel, a lawyer hired by Beheshti's mother, as saying the sentence was too light considering the nature of the crime. "While journalists are sentenced to six years in this country, it's surprising that a murderer is sentenced to three years in jail," the lawyer was quoted by ISNA as saying.