Two female journalists in Iran have been sentenced to a long period of imprisonment on national security charges after they covered Mahsa Amini protests.
In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was taken into custody by Iran’s morality police for violating ‘Islamic dress code’ and refusing to wear a hijab. She died in police custody. Huge protests then burst out across the country.
Days after the protests, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were arrested while their trials started in May.
Both were reporting for reformist newspapers.
Hamedi had posted an image on social media of Amini’s parents holding each other and crying at the hospital where she died, while Mohammadi reported on her funeral from Amini’s hometown.
According to the official news website of the Iranian judiciary, Hamedi and Mohammadi will serve sentences of 13 years and 12 years in prison, respectively.
Hamedi’s preliminary sentence is seven years in prison for “cooperating with the hostile government of the United States” whereas Mohammadi has received six years for the same offence.
They both received an additional five years in prison for “collusion to commit crimes against the country’s security” and a one-year sentence for “propaganda against the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Hamedi has also been sentenced to a two-year ban on “membership in political parties or groups, being active on social media, or working in media,” reports Al Jazeera.
“In the cases of both aforementioned individuals, there is proven evidence of links with some entities and individuals linked with the US government, which was done knowingly and in following anti-security policies,” the judiciary website said.
The sentences, however, are subjected to appeal and thus, can be reduced.
