A day after release, Iran’s journalists charged for not wearing hijab

Two journalists who were released after a 17-month prison sentence – for their reports on Mahsa Amini’s death – have now been accused of violating Iran’s hijab laws, The Guardian reported. 

Niloofar Hamedi, 31, and Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, were released on Sunday on a 10 billion toman (£150,000) bail after appealing against their sentences of 12 and 13 years, respectively, for spreading propaganda, crime against national security, and collaborating with a foreign state.   

The two journalists were the first to report on the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was allegedly arrested for violating the country’s mandatory hijab law and subsequently died in police custody in September 2022. 

Following their release on Sunday, the journalists were greeted by over 100 family members and supporters outside the Evin prison in Tehran, where they flashed victory signs and were seen without the traditional headscarf.  

In a separate case, imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison, her family said on Monday. The 51-year-old has already spent 12 years in jail serving multiple sentences. She has campaigned for human rights in Iran and is accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic while behind the bars.

Besides an additional 15 months in prison, Mohammadi has been sentenced to “two years of exile outside Tehran and neighbouring provinces, a two-year travel ban, a two-year ban on membership in social-political groups, and a two-year ban on using a smartphone”. 

Correction at 9:30 am on January 17, 2024: The jail terms of Elaheh Mohammadi and Narges Mohammadi were extended in different cases. The latter continues to remain in prison.