A Tehran court in Iran has sentenced two female journalists up to 13 years in prison over their involvement in reporting on Mahsa Amini’s death last year.
State media reported on the preliminary sentencing of reporters Niloufar Hamedi from Sharq and Elaheh Mohammadi from Hammihan, both Iranian reformist newspapers, on Sunday night.
According to the Islamic Republic Newspaper Agency (IRNA), Hamedi and Mohammadi were sentenced to seven years and six years imprisonment respectively for “collaborating with the hostile US government”.
The state media said the court also handed down a five-year sentence to both journalists for “acting against the national security” of Iran, as well as one year imprisonment each for producing “propaganda against the system”.
#Iran court sentences two journalists over role in 2022 riotshttps://t.co/94DIr7na07 pic.twitter.com/DGqPO2L7NF
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) October 22, 2023
The charges are in relation to the journalists’ reportage of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died on September 16 2022. The Kurdish-Iranian woman is suspected to have died at the hands of the Iranian morality police, who took her into custody for failing to properly wear a headscarf.
At the time of her death, Hamedi published an image of an emotional moment between Amini’s parents, hugging and crying at the hospital in Tehran where she died. The image went viral on social media. Mohammadi reported on Amini’s funeral following her death, in her hometown of Saqqez.
This is a photo of the parents of #Mahsa_Amini in Tehran's Kasra Hospital after they heard Mahsa has passed away.
— 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 (@MitraMotamed) September 16, 2022
Mahsa Amini fell into a coma earlier this week shortly after being arrested and beaten by #Iran’s morality police. She passed away hours ago. @mbachelet #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/wnJqjetD0O
The journalists were arrested in September 2022 last year as a result of their reportage, according to the judiciary website.
“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 statement read.
Accusations of the journalists colluding with the US stemmed from a joint statement in October 2022 from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the intelligence division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in October 2022.
The statement said the journalists were trained in all-paid courses from the US, held in many foreign countries to teach “hybrid wars and soft overthrow” of the Iranian establishment, “played the role of being the first sources to manufacture news for foreign media” that led to protests.
The US’ Deputy Special Envoy for Iran, Abram Paley, condemned Hamedi’s and Mohammadi’s sentences in a social media post.
“(They) should never have been jailed, and we condemn their sentences. The Iranian regime jails journalists because it fears the truth,” Paley said.
Niloufar and Elaheh should never have been jailed, and we condemn their sentences. The Iranian regime jails journalists because it fears the truth.
— Office of the Special Envoy for Iran (@USEnvoyIran) October 22, 2023
The families and employers of Hamedia and Mohammadi have denied the allegations, including Hamedi’s Husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, who posted on X vowing to fight for her freedom.
“We know that together, we will overcome all the difficulties and celebrate freedom,” he wrote.
Mahsa Amini’s death was a significant moment for the women’s rights movement in the region, sparking widespread protests in Iran and around the world, known as the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.
According to rights groups, Iranian authorities have killed 500 people and detained 22,000 in their violent responses to these protests.
Last week, Amini and the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement received the EU’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for the defence of “human rights and fundamental freedoms”.