Journalists Sentenced to Years Behind Bars Over Alleged US Collaboration

(NationRise.com) – A court in Iran recently sentenced two female journalists on charges of collaborating with United States authorities. This situation takes place more than a year after the Iranian police arrested them while they were covering the death of Mahsa Amini, who was fatally beaten by Iran’s morality police after refusing to wear her hijab. Her death sparked massive demonstrations in numerous cities across the Persian nation.

According to Mizan, reporters Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi were sentenced to six and seven years in prison, respectively. The judiciary news media outlet noted that both can appeal the sentence within 20 days. It explained this is another example of how the Iranian regime jails journalists who inform about the crisis that the country is experiencing.

The US Special Envoy of Iran, which coordinates and implements the US State Department’s Iran policy, said on its Twitter account that the United States condemns Mohammadi and Hamedi’s sentences. The agency also blasted the Iranian regime for refusing to respect freedom of speech and for persecuting the opposition.

Mizan pointed out that, in addition to working with the “hostile” US government, the Tehran Revolutionary Court charged the two journalists with propaganda against the system and colluding against Iran’s national security. Mohammadi was working for Ham-Mihan and Hamedi with Shargh, which are two of the most popular reformist newspapers in the Persian nation. The two journalists were arrested in September 2022.

The US nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentence against Hamedi and Mohammadi and called Iranian authorities to release them immediately. In a statement, the New York-based organization claimed that their sentence is a “desperate attempt” from the Iranian regime to criminalize journalism and to erode freedom of speech.

According to numerous human rights activists in Iran, nearly 600 people have been killed by Iranian authorities in the nationwide protests after Amini’s death. Different reports have pointed out that the Iranian regime has also detained tens of thousands of protesters.