An Iranian court issued prison sentences Sunday for two female journalists who covered Mahsa Amini’s death last year, drawing sharp condemnation from rights groups.
According to the country’s judicial news site Mizan, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi to a total of 13 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for collaborating with the “hostile US government,” “conspiracy to commit crimes against the security of the country” and “propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The two women had been held in pre-trial detention for more than a year before Sunday’s sentencing.
Hamedi, who worked for the Reformist daily newspaper Shargh, was arrested Sept. 22, 2022, soon after breaking the news about Amini’s death in custody following her arrest by the notorious morality police on Sept. 16 for violating Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.