- The court sentenced them to seven and six years in jail on national security charges, which they denied.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned their trials as a sham, highlighting irregularities.
- Over 90 journalists were questioned or arrested
Iran’s judiciary has initiated a new case against two female journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, accusing them of appearing without the compulsory hijab upon their release from prison. After they spent 17 months in detention, photographers captured images of them with their hair uncovered.
The journalists played a key role in breaking the story of Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022, leading to widespread protests against hijab laws. In October, the court sentenced them to seven and six years in jail on national security charges, which they denied.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) condemned their trials as a sham, highlighting irregularities such as last-minute notifications to their lawyers, limited time to examine case files, and no opportunity to address the judge. The court approved the women’s release on a bail of 10 billion tomans ($193,000 at the open market rate) while they appealed against the sentences.
The newspapers employing Hamedi and Mohammadi, along with many Iranians online, celebrated the decision and shared pictures of them outside Tehran’s Evin prison.
Iranian media:
In August, Iranian media reported that authorities had questioned or arrested over 90 journalists since protests erupted following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. The morality police detained her in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly.”
Hamedi, a journalist with Sharq newspaper, captured a poignant moment in a photograph, showing Mahsa Amini’s father and grandmother hugging in the hospital upon learning of her death. Mohammadi, a reporter with Hammihan newspaper, covered Amini’s funeral, describing how mourners chanted “Woman, life, freedom,” a slogan that became prominent in the protests.
Weeks later, authorities arrested the journalists and accused them of “collaborating with the hostile US government” and “propaganda against the establishment,” charges they vehemently rejected, insisting that they were merely doing their jobs.
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