The lawyers for Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two prominent Iranian journalists, have announced that the Tehran Appeals Court has sentenced each of them to six years in prison. Initially, they were sentenced to a combined 25 years in prison in the preliminary court.
According to Kolbarnews, the Tehran Appeals Court has sentenced Hamedi and Mohammadi to a total of 12 years in prison. Their lawyers—Perto Borhanpour, Hojjat Kermani, and Shahaboddin Mirlohi—explained that the court acquitted both journalists of the charge of “collaboration with a hostile foreign government (the United States).” However, the other sentences were upheld: five years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” and one year for “propaganda against the regime.”
Shahaboddin Mirlohi, the lawyer for Elaheh Mohammadi, stated that the ruling was referred to the First Branch of the Criminal Enforcement Court of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in District 33 on July 6, 2024. According to the appeal verdict, the harshest sentence (five years) will be enforced.
Mirlohi expressed hope that Mohammadi might be eligible for amnesty under the 2022 pardon directive, which could potentially lead to the closure of her case. The defense team for Niloofar Hamedi also noted that since the original case against her was filed after September 16, 2022, and she was not excluded from the 2022 pardon directive, her case might similarly be resolved, as the most serious charge has been dismissed.
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were first arrested in the early days of the nationwide protests in 2022. Niloofar Hamedi, a journalist for *Shargh* newspaper, was the first to publish the photo of Jina Amini in a coma, while Mohammadi, from *Ham-Mihan* newspaper, traveled to Saqqez to report on Amini’s death. Both were initially detained in Qarchak prison and later transferred to Evin prison.
In October 2022, Judge Salavati of the 15th Branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Niloofar Hamedi to seven years for “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States,” five years for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and one year for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” Elaheh Mohammadi received a similar sentence of six years for “collaboration with the hostile government of the United States,” five years for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and one year for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were released on bail from Evin prison on January 14, 2023. Shortly after their release, the judiciary’s media center announced that a new case had been opened against them for “unveiling” (removing their headscarves) in public.
