Iranian photojournalist faces 15 years in prison over images, reporting

Acclaimed Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has spent much of her career documenting moments of dissent and the lives of women in Iran. The work has repeatedly brought her into conflict with the authorities, and on Iran's National Journalist Day on Saturday she learned she had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The sentence ‌was handed down under a law enacted after a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025, legislation that Iranian authorities say is intended to combat espionage and cooperation with hostile states.

When Moaiery arrived at Tehran's Revolutionary Court, she was not given formal case documents, she said. Instead, a friend accompanying her copied details from a charge sheet by hand. Rights groups say such procedures reflect a lack of transparency in Iran's judicial system.

According to the handwritten notes reviewed by Reuters, the accusations against her include giving interviews to media outlets deemed hostile by the authorities and providing photographs to organisations linked to the U.S. and Israel. Reuters could ⁠not independently verify the contents of the charge sheet.

In a statement provided to Reuters, Moaiery said the intelligence wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raided her home during anti-government protests in January and confiscated her phone, laptop and other electronic equipment. 

She said IRGC officers returned after the U.S. launched air strikes on Iran this year and again seized her belongings.

Reuters