Iran Frees Journalists Jailed for Covering Mahsa Amini's Death

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Facts

  • Iranian state-run media reported on Sunday that journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi — who were sentenced in October 2022 for covering Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini's death in custody — have been temporarily released on bail.1
  • The Tehran Revolutionary Court previously found Mohammadi and Hamedi guilty of multiple security charges, including having links with the US government. While the duo awaits their appeal verdict, they are banned from leaving the country.2
  • Mohammadi and Hamedi had received sentences of 12 and 13 years in prison, respectively. Their sentences include a two-year ban on membership in political organizations, online activities, and media engagement.3
  • Hamedi, affiliated with the reformist media outlet Shargh, broke the news of Amini's death, while Mohammadi, who worked for another reformist newspaper Ham-Mihan, covered Amini's funeral in her hometown of Saqqez.4
  • While in prison, the two journalists had been awarded the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for their contribution to press freedom. Additionally, Time magazine named the duo among the 100 Most Influential People of 2023.5
  • Amini's death in police custody— which allegedly occurred after she violated Iran's headscarf law — triggered nationwide protests in 2022 and the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown on dissent, which reportedly resulted in the death of at least 500 protestors and arrests of over 19K activists.6

Sources: 1Reuters, 2IRNA, 3Iran International, 4BBC News, 5CNN and 6Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Anti-Iran narrative, as provided by Dw.Com. It's outrageous that Hamedi and Mohammadi's bail amount — $200K each — equals what an average person in the country would earn in a century, based on Iran's estimated GDP per capita. Furthermore, Iran is yet to release dozens of journalists put behind bars for covering human rights abuses, as Tehran unwaveringly seeks to silence not only dissent, but also information about it.
  • Pro-Iran narrative, as provided by PressTV. One must never forget that Hamedi and Mohammadi conspired and colluded with organizations hostile to the Islamic Republic to incite people to riots and violence with disinformation under the guise of journalism. They acted as American assets in Iran and rightly belonged in jail. Hopefully, it won't be long until they are back behind bars.

Predictions