A court in Iran sentenced two journalists to up to seven years in prison for collaborating with the U.S. government and other charges, local reports said Sunday. Both women have been for over a year following their coverage of while in police custody in Sept. 2022.
The sentencing can be appealed within 20 days.
The two journalists, Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Amini鈥檚 death for wearing her headscarf too loose, and Elaheh Mohammadi, who wrote about her funeral, were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively, the judiciary news website Mizan reported Sunday.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the decision to sentence the two journalists and reiterated its call for their immediate release.
鈥淭he convictions of Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are a travesty and serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech and the desperate attempts of the Iranian government to criminalize journalism,鈥� said Sherif Mansour, CPJ鈥檚 Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court had charged the journalists with allegedly collaborating with the hostile American government, colluding against national security and propaganda against the system, according to Mezan.
Hamedi worked for the reformist newspaper Shargh, while Mohammadi worked for Ham-Mihan, also a reformist paper. They were detained in September 2022.
The Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran condemned the sentences on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: 鈥淣iloufar and Elaheh should never have been jailed, and we condemn their sentences.鈥�
It also said, 鈥淭he Iranian regime jails journalists because it fears the truth.鈥�
The office is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the State Department鈥檚 Iran policy and reports directly to the Secretary of State.
In May, the United Nations for their commitment to truth and accountability.
Amini鈥檚 death touched off months-long protests in dozens of cities across Iran. The demonstrations posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.
While nearly 100 journalists were arrested amid the demonstrations, Hamedi鈥檚 and Mohammadi鈥檚 reporting was crucial in the days after Amini鈥檚 death to spread the word about the anger that followed.
Their detentions have sparked international criticism over the bloody security force crackdown that lasted months after Amini鈥檚 death.
Since the protests began, at least 529 people have been killed in demonstrations, according to human rights activists in Iran. Over 19,700 others have been detained by authorities amid a violent crackdown trying to suppress the dissent. Iran for months has not offered any overall casualty figures, while acknowledging tens of thousands had been detained.
