Iran: journalists accused of spying in private trials
The NUJ has called for the release of two journalists accused of “conspiring with foreign powers’ over their reporting following Mahsa Amini’s death.
The National Union of Journalists joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in calling for charges against Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi to be dropped.
The two women journalists stood trial in closed door hearings despite calls from the IFJ and Tehran Province Journalists Association (TPJA) for the trials to be heard in public.
Hamedi and Mohammadi are both accused of “conspiring with hostile foreign powers” by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp. Their reporting on Amini’s death in police custody and her funeral led to their arrests.
Dominique Pradalié, IFJ president, said:
“The imprisonment of journalists for simply doing their job sends an alarming sign at the international level. We reiterate our condemnation of the unfounded accusations against our colleagues, Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, and urge the Iranian authorities to drop all charges against them. Journalism is not a crime and the Islamic Republic must release all jailed journalists and media workers in the country.”
Spying charges in Iran carry the death penalty and the TPJA has closely monitored cases of jailed journalists while attempting to secure their release through negotiations with Iranian authorities. Five other journalists who remain imprisoned in the country.