Jailed Journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi Indicted on Multiple Charges

The Iranian Judiciary’s spokesperson has announced that detained journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi have been indicted on various charges. Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court will be handling their cases.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the judiciary’s news agency, Mizan, reporters Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi were indicted on “collaboration with an adversary country, assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the regime.”

Masoud Setayeshi, the Judiciary’s spokesperson, stated that their indictment was issued on April 17, 2023, and their cases were referred to Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Hamedi, a reporter for the daily newspaper Shargh, was arrested at her residence in Tehran by security forces on September 22, 2022. She was the first journalist to publish a picture of Mahsa Amini in a coma. In December 2022, she was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin.

Mohammadi, a reporter for the daily newspaper Ham-Mihan, was arrested on September 29, 2022, after traveling to Saqqez and reporting on the funeral of Mahsa Amini.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

 

 

 

Journalist Elaheh Mohammadi Still Detained After Six Months

Elaheh Mohammadi, a reporter for the daily newspaper Ham-Mihan, has been in detention for over six months in Qarchak Prison, Varamin, with an unclear status regarding due process.

Mohammadi’s husband, Saeed Para, stated, “Her lawyer does not have access to the legal files… no matter how much we tried, we did not receive any answers from the officials. From the prosecutor’s office to the court, they all breach the procedural law.”

“We met with as many officials as we could and waited for hours and days in front of Evin courthouse and judicial offices, we obtained even an urgent review order, but in the end, it went nowhere. Despite all promises, our request remains unanswered, and we are still at square one,” Parsa added.

On September 29, 2022, security forces arrested Mohammadi following her travel to Saqqez and publishing a report on the funeral of Mahsa Amini.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper Hijab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

Latest List of Jailed Journalists in Iran

Over the past six months, dozens of journalists have been arrested or summoned for covering news and publishing articles about the 2022 nationwide protests and poison attacks on school students. These arrests exemplify the regime’s attempt to suppress the free flow of information and limit social and civil liberties. This report provides a list of 19 jailed journalists.

According to data collected by HRANA, among many of the journalists who were detained or summoned in recent months, at least 19 are still jailed/imprisoned in different prisons:

Niloofar Hamedi
Niloofar Hamedi

1- Niloofar Hamedi
Arrest date: September 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant with an unclear status of due process.
Latest Condition: Jailed in Qarchak Prison, Varamin city.

 

 

Elaheh Mohammadi
Elaheh Mohammadi

2- Elaheh Mohammadi
Arrest date: September 29, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant with an unclear status of due process.
Latest Condition: Jailed in Qarchak Prison, Varamin city.

 

 

 

Alireza Jabbari Darestani
Alireza Jabbari Darestani

3- Alireza Jabbari Darestani
Arrest date: September 25, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Vida Rabbani
Vida Rabbani

4- Vida Rabbani
Arrest date: September 24, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security”
Latest Condition: Jailed in Evin Prison, Tehran

 

Maliheh Doreki
Maliheh Doreki

5- Maliheh Doreki
Arrest date: October 26, 2022
Place of Arrest: Abadan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi
Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi

6- Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi
Arrest date: October 19, 2022
Place of Arrest: Abadan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Farkhandeh Ashoori
Farkhandeh Ashoori

7- Farkhandeh Ashoori
Arrest date: October 17, 2022
Place of Arrest: Shiraz
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Siamand Mohtadi
Siamand Mohtadi

8- Siamand Mohtadi
Arrest date: February 11, 2023
Place of Arrest: Bukan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Ziba Omidifar
Ziba Omidifar

9- Ziba Omidifar
Arrest date: December 8, 2022
Place of Arrest: Qorveh
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Maral Darafarin
Maral Darafarin

10- Maral Darafarin
Arrest date: November 1, 2022
Place of Arrest: unknown (a resident of Lahijan)
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Melika Hashemi
Melika Hashemi

11- Melika Hashemi
Arrest date: January 20, 2023
Place of Arrest: Tehran (Evin Courthouse)
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Amir Maskani
Amir Maskani

12- Amir Maskani
Arrest date: November 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Sabzevar
Status of due process:  sentenced to seven months in prison, nine months of suspended imprisonment and paying a five-million-Toman fine for “propaganda against the regime, inciting people to commit murder and wage war against national security”
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei
Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei

13- Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei
Arrest date: March 5, 2023
Place of Arrest: Qom
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Morteza Hagh-Bayan
Morteza Hagh-Bayan

14- Morteza Hagh-Bayan
Arrest date: August 25, 2019
Place of Arrest: Sanandaj
Status of due process: sentenced to two years and six months in prison for “spreading falsehood on the Internet, disturbing public opinions, insulting and slandering government’ authorities.”
Latest Condition: Since May 19, 2021, he has been serving his sentence in Sanadaj Prison.

 

 

Mohsen Ravari
Mohsen Ravari

15- Mohsen Ravari
Arrest date: September 23, 2022
Place of Arrest: Jiroft
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam
Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam

16- Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam
Arrest date: October 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Borujerd
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

17- Iman Behpasand
Arrest date: September 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

18- Mohsen Ahmadizadeh
Arrest date: September 23, 2022
Place of Arrest: Jiroft
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

Mohammad Zare Foumani
Mohammad Zare Foumani

19- Mohammad Zare Foumani
Arrest date: October 9, 2022
Place of Arrest: unknown
Status of due process: Sentenced by the Court of Appeals to 12 years, paying a 15-million-Tomans fine and two years exile for “spreading falsehood against the regime’s authorities to disturb public opinions, assembly and collusion, and inciting people to act against national security.”
Latest Condition: Jailed in Evin Prison’s special ward for clergies, Tehran.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journalist Elaheh Mohammadi Arrested

On September 29, 2022, security forces arrested Elaheh Mohammadi, a reporter for the daily newspaper Hammihan.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on September 29, 2022, following the arrests of journalists, newspaper reporter Elaheh Mohammadi was also arrested.

Mohammadi’s lawyer, Mohammad Ali Kamfiroozi broke the news on his page on social media, saying that the intelligence agents summoned and arrested her while she was on the way to the Ministry of Intelligence office. As a reporter, Mohammdi had gone to Saqqez and made a report on Mahsa Amini’s funeral.

On September 17, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died at a hospital after the Moral Police arrested her for improper hejab. Since September 23, demonstrations were held in at least 85 cities and 18 universities across 29 provinces, and are still ongoing, as many have been arrested, injured, or killed.