Iran sentences two female journalists to over four years in prison

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran has sentenced two female journalists to more than four years in prison each, on charges of conspiring against the Iranian government, a Tehran-based journalist association reported on Monday.

A Tehran court found Saeedeh Shafiei and Nasim Sultanbeigi guilty of "propaganda against the regime" and "association and collusion" in a hearing held earlier this month, the Tehran Province Journalist Association reported on Monday citing Hassan Homayoun, Shafiei’s husband.

They were each sentenced to four years and three months in prison: Eight months for the first charge, and three years and seven months for the second charge.

Shafiei and Sultanbeigi were separately detained and transferred to Iran’s notorious Evin prison in January. They were both temporarily released on bail until the end of their trials a while later.

In addition to the imprisonment sentences, the journalists have also been banned from joining any political and social groups for a period of two years and prohibited from leaving the country during that time as well.

Dozens of journalists were detained by Iranian authorities in late 2022 and early 2023 for covering the nationwide protest movement following the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police.

Rights groups have accused Iran of carrying out “sham” and “unfair” trials of those detained during the Amini protests.

According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index issued by the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, a non-profit organization aiming to safeguard freedom of information, Iran is listed as 177 out of 180 in the world, making it one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom, followed only by Vietnam, China and North Korea.