On Sunday in Iran, Iranian journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were released from prison after paying bail, convicted for reporting on the case of Mahsa Amini, the woman who died in prison in September 2022 in unclear circumstances, triggering huge protests all over the country. Hamedi and Mohammadi have appealed their convictions and will remain out of prison until a court has ruled on the appeal.
They had been convicted of several crimes related to their coverage of the Amini story, including charges of collaborating with the US government (seven years for Hamedi and six for Mohammadi) and acting against national security (five years for both). They were then sentenced to a further year in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Amini, who was 22, died in prison after being arrested for not wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly, or hijab, as required by Iranian law: the Iranian regime had attributed his death to natural causes, but it is considered very likely that it was instead caused by police violence. Hamedi in particular was the journalist who first made the story public, and from there exceptional and transversal protests against the regime began and continued for months in the country, which responded with harsh repression.
– Read also: The trial against the Iranian journalist who reported the case of Mahsa Amini