Two Iranian Journalists Released After Reporting on Mahsa Amini’s Death
Tehran, Iran: Two Iranian journalists who had been imprisoned for over a year for covering the death of Mahsa Amini, which triggered widespread protests, were released by Iranian authorities on Sunday, according to local media.
Niloufar Hamedi, aged 31, and Elaheh Mohammadi, aged 36, were granted bail and freed from Evin prison, as reported by the reformist Shargh newspaper and other Iranian outlets. Tasnim news agency stated that each journalist had to pay a bail amount of 100 billion rials ($192,307).
While Hamedi and Mohammadi are currently appealing their prison sentences, they will remain out of jail until the appeals court reaches a decision. Additionally, they have been banned from traveling abroad.
Images of the two journalists happily embracing outside the prison quickly circulated on social media following their release. Mohammadi, a reporter for Ham Mihan newspaper, and Hamedi, a photographer for Shargh newspaper, had been detained in Tehran’s Evin prison since Amini’s death in September 2022.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested for allegedly violating strict dress regulations for women and tragically died while in custody due to the morality policy.
Hamedi was arrested shortly after Amini’s death when she visited the hospital where Amini was being treated and shared a photo of the grieving family on social media. Mohammadi, on the other hand, was detained while covering Amini’s funeral in her hometown of Saqez, located in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, which turned into a demonstration.
In October, Mizan Online, the judiciary’s website, announced that the two journalists were found guilty of collaborating with the United States, Iran’s archenemy, conspiring against state security, and propagating against the Islamic republic. Mohammadi received a six-year prison sentence, while Hamedi was handed a seven-year term for the same offenses. They also received additional concurrent sentences of five years each for conspiracy charges and one year each for propaganda.
Reports from August indicated that over 90 journalists had been interrogated or arrested by Iranian authorities since the protests erupted across the country following Amini’s death. The demonstrations resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives, including both security personnel and protesters, with thousands of demonstrators being arrested and accused of participating in Western-fueled “riots.”
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