Iranian Journalists Accused Of Being "Foreign Agents" May Face Death Penalty

Iranian authorities have accused the imprisoned journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s untimely death of being “foreign agents”. According to Reporters Without Borders, Iran is systemically trying to silence women by cracking down on female journalists.

22-year-old Amini passed away after she was detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly”. Protests erupted across Iran and went global as Iranians expressed their anger at the government and the strict hijab rules that were enforced.

Journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi who drew attention to Amini’s death were arrested by the Iranian authorities.

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Iranian Journalists Imprisoned

Hamedi covered the story from the hospital where Amini spent 3 days in a coma before she passed away. The story was published for Iran’s Shargh newspaper and was reportedly taken into custody on September 20.

Meanwhile, Mohammadi who worked for the Ham Mihan newspaper and travelled to Saqez, Amini’s hometown in the Kurdistan region in Iran to cover the funeral. The site had turned into one of the first protest sites and was taken into custody on September 29.

According to Hamedi and Mohammadi’s families, both female journalists are currently being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement, "almost half of all newly arrested journalists are women, including two who are facing the death penalty. The increasing detention of female journalists symbolically reveals the Iranian regime's intention to systematically silence women's voices."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the two were among 51 journalists that were imprisoned since the protests began. Till now, only 14 have been confirmed to have been granted bail releases.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) expressed “deep concern” for the two journalists in a statement. It said the two journalists were “being detained without access to internationally recognised standards of due process”.

It added that the two women could face years of imprisonment if they were convicted. The charges can also carry the death penality.

The Iranian intelligence authorities accused the journalists of being foreign agents and alleged that being journalists was their “cover”. They accused them of using their reporting to stir up opposition against the government.

The CHRI said the statement was filled with “unsubstantiated claims” and false allegations. Hadi Ghaemi, the CHRI executive director said, “This witch hunt is a cowardly attempt by the Islamic republic to pin its many failures on two journalists”.