The Iranian regime’s Judiciary has sentenced two imprisoned journalists to seven and six years of imprisonment.
After more than a year of detention, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two journalists who had reported on the death of Mahsa Amini, were sentenced to seven and six years of imprisonment, respectively, by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
Mizan News Agency, run by the judiciary, wrote about the details of Elaheh Mohammadi’s charges: “Ms. Elaheh Mohammadi has been sentenced to six years of imprisonment on charges of collaborating with the hostile government of the United States, five years of imprisonment for conspiracy and collusion to commit crimes against national security, and one year of imprisonment for anti-establishment propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
According to this report, Niloufar Hamedi was also sentenced to “seven years of imprisonment on charges of collaborating with the hostile government of the United States, five years of imprisonment for conspiracy and collusion to commit crimes against national security, and one year of imprisonment for anti-establishment propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
According to the regime’s “Islamic Penal Code,” the maximum punishment of seven years of imprisonment is applicable to Niloufar Hamedi, and six years for Elaheh Mohammadi.
The court also sentenced these two journalists to a two-year ban from membership in political parties and groups, as well as activities in online platforms, media, and press, as supplementary punishment on charges of “anti-security measures.”
Mizan News Agency provided separate reports detailing the charges against these two journalists. The reports mention the collaboration of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi with a foreign website, and their production of content for this website has been classified as “collaboration with a hostile government.”
Mizan News Agency states: “Mohammadi was involved in activities related to the project of the mentioned website, such as formulating guidelines for the website’s members, distribution in cities and universities, preparing multiple reports, translation, designing the questions posed about the website Dideban-e Azar (harasswatch), collecting Instagram polls, and collaborating in the compilation of a book, among others. In general, Mohammadi has played a pivotal role in all content-related and executive matters of the project within the country.”
Finally, the Judiciary has also mentioned Niloufar Hamedi’s communication with several Persian-language media reporters outside the country, as well as her connection with civil and media activists and non-profit organizations as part of her charges.
Regarding the communication of his client’s verdict, Parto Borhanpour, Niloufar Hamedi’s lawyer, told Shargh website on Sunday: “We have heard news through the media about the issuance of our clients’ verdicts. However, according to the Civil Procedure Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, if a lawyer has announced representation in a case, the verdict must be officially communicated to the lawyer by law.”
Niloufar Hamedi was detained on September 22, 2022, by the State Security forces at her home due to her reporting on Mahsa Amini’s situation from the hospital.
One week later, Elaheh Mohammadi, a journalist for Ham-Mihan newspaper, was also arrested for publishing reports on Mahsa Amini’s funeral in the city of Saqqez.
These two journalists came under pressure and were targeted by security institutions due to their reporting on the death and funeral of Mahsa Amini, and the security agencies of the Islamic Republic issued statements against them.
