These Two Iranian Women Journalists Who Were Jailed For Reporting On Mahsa Amini’s Death Have Been Temporarily Freed
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi had been the first journalists to report on Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022.
These two Iranian women journalists who were jailed for reporting on Mahsa Amini’s death have been temporarily freed.
31-year-old Niloofar Hamedi and 36-year-old Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively in October 2022 for “conspiring with foreign intelligence agencies to undermine national security and spreading propaganda”.
They were arrested shortly after 22-year-old Amini died following her arrest by “morality” police for allegedly breaking the country’s mandatory hijab law in 2022.
Hamedi had been the first journalist to report on Amini’s death when she posted a photo of Amini’s parents hugging each other in the hospital after learning that Amini had died.
Hamedi was arrested shortly after.
Mohammadi, meanwhile, was detained after she covered Amini’s funeral in her hometown in Saqqez, where the mass anti-government protests first broke out.
They were temporarily released on bail on Sunday Jan. 14, but have been banned from leaving the country.
The next day, the two were immediately charged for not wearing headscarves when they left prison.
Separately also on Monday Jan. 15, Iranian authorities added 15 months to the prison sentence of jailed human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, her family said.
Mohammadi has spent the last 30 years pushing for peaceful change in the country, calling to end to the country’s mandatory hijab law, violence against women, and the death penalty.
For her activism, she is currently serving 10 years in prison in Tehran for several charges, including “spreading anti-state propaganda”
