An Iranian court has sentenced a prominent Iranian-Canadian blogger to more than 19 years in jail, rights groups and Iranian media say.

伊朗媒体与人权组织称，一家伊朗法庭判处一位著名的伊朗裔加拿大博客作者19年监禁。

Hossein Derakhshan was charged with "propagating（传播，繁殖） against the regime" and "co-operating with hostile states".

Mr Derakhshan was arrested in 2008 during a visit to the country.

He is credited with launching Iran's blogging revolution. Originally critical of the government, he later backed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Derakhshan was also sentenced for promoting counter-revolutionary groups, insulting Islamic thought and religious figures and managing obscene（淫秽的） websites, Mashreq news website reported.

Judicial¹ sources said he could appeal the ruling.

After moving to Toronto, Canada, from Tehran in 2000, he posted simple instructions in Farsi on how to publish blogs - thus helping² to spark an explosion of blogging in Iran.

He paid a highly-publicised visit Israel - Iran's arch-enemy - in 2006, saying he wanted to act as a bridge between the two countries.

Pressure group the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called Derakhshan "a prisoner of conscience, prosecuted³ and sentenced solely⁴ for his opinions and writings".

The group says there are more than 500 prisoners of conscience（政治犯） in Iranian jails.

Iranian opposition⁵ bloggers continue to be active despite a government crackdown since disputed elections last year that saw President Ahmadinejad re-elected.

Opposition leaders said the election was rigged（操纵，控制） .