Two Iranian journalists sentenced to imprisonment

A court in Tehran has sentenced two journalists to three years in prison, with part of the sentence suspended, after they were convicted of "conspiring" and "colluding," as reported by local media outlets.

Naz Mohammadi from the "Ham Mihan" newspaper and Neghin Bagheri from the "Haft Sobh" newspaper were both sentenced to less than a month in prison, according to their lawyer, Amir Reissian, who is also associated with the reformist "Ham Mihan" newspaper.

He added that the "remaining sentence will be suspended for five years," explaining that during this period, the two convicted journalists will be required to attend classes "on professional ethics" and will be prohibited from traveling.

Mohammadi was detained for a week in February for reasons that have not been clarified.

She is the sister of journalist Elaheh Mohammadi, who works for the same newspaper and has been imprisoned since September 2022 for her coverage of the burial ceremony of Mahsa Amini.

The death of this 22-year-old Kurdish woman, who was arrested by Iran's morality police on suspicion of violating dress code rules, sparked protests across the country.

Hundreds of people, including dozens of security forces members, were killed during these protests.

Thousands of protesters were also arrested and accused by the authorities of participating in "riotous acts" allegedly orchestrated by Israel, Iran's regional arch-enemy, and Western countries.

Local media outlets reported not long ago that more than 90 journalists have been arrested or interrogated since the protests began.


AFP