The separate trials of Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who have been imprisoned since September 2022, were held in branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court earlier this week. As happened with the first court hearings on 29 and 30 May, 2023, the trials were held in private and without the presence of media, despite repeated demands from the TPJA, the IFJ and other organisations for them to be held in public.
In November, 2022, the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp accused both journalists of “conspiring with hostile foreign powers”. Spying charges carry the death penalty in the country.
On 25 July, Hamedi, who reported on Amini’s death in police custody for the reformist Shargh newspaper, stood trial. After the hearing, her lawyer Parto Borhanpour, told the media that "the investigation of his client was completed on 30 October, 2022, so there was no justification for her continued arrest".
Hamedi’s husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, wrote on Twitter that his wife declared in front of the court that “she is proud of her journalistic work”. Her family is awaiting the court’s decision in the coming days.
On 26 July, the second court proceeding of Mohammadi, who covered Amini’s funeral in the Kurdish region of Saqqez for the Hammihan newspaper, was held. Mohammadi’s husband, Saeed Parsaie, shared some paragraphs of his wife's defence on Twitter. “In my 15 years of professional activity, I only stepped on the path of reflecting people's voices and improving their lives. [...] I have had no connection with any foreign government, and I am proud to stay with the people to be their voice."
According to her husband’s tweets, she continued: "Niloofar Hamedi and I are representatives of the noble and suffering body of Iranian journalists, and now we are on tral."
Following the outbreak of the nationwide protests after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, the TPJA set up a committee to monitor the cases of jailed journalists and tried to negotiate their release with the Iranian authorities. It is worth noting that none of the TPJA’s representatives were allowed in the courtroom. That was the case for both Hamadi’s and Mohammadi’s hearings.
IFJ President Dominique Pradalié said: “The imprisonment of journalists for simply doing their job sends an alarming sign at the international level. We reiterate our condemnation of the unfounded accusations against our colleagues, Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, and urge the Iranian authorities to drop all charges against them. Journalism is not a crime and the Islamic Republic must release all jailed journalists and media workers in the country.”
Families and friends of the two journalists have launched a campaign on social media to support Hamadi and Mohammadi and call for their release, sharing posts with the hashtag #Elahe_Niloofar.
Journalists currently in jail:
1- Mrs Niloofar Hamedi, a journalist and reporter at Shargh newspaper, was arrested at her home in Tehran on 22 September 2022.
2- Mrs Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist and reporter at Hammihan newspaper, was arrested at her home in Tehran on 23 September.
3- Mrs Farkhondeh Ashoori, a freelance journalist and former reporter at Fars news agency, was arrested in Shiraz city on 17 October.
4- Mrs Maral Dar Afarin, a local journalist in Gilan province, was arrested on 1 November.
5- Mr Rebawa Saidmohamadi, a Sahar TV journalist, was arrested last year after returning from Iraq Kurdistan and sentenced to seven years in jail.
6- Mr Kamyar Fakoor, the Khabaronline labour reporter, has been in jail since 9 May 2023 and is serving a nine-month jail term.
7- Mrs Nazila Maroufian, a freelance journalist, was arrested on 17 July after being summoned to Tehran's prosecution office.