Iran: Female Journalist Goes on Trial Over Coverage of Mahsa Amini Protests

Iran has faced unrest from the public since September last year with the anti-government protests across the country. A female Iranian journalist went on a closed-door trial this week on charges involving her coverage of the funeral of the Kurdish Iranian woman whose death sparked the demonstrations.

On Monday, a female Iranian journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, went on a closed-door trial for charges linked to her reporting of the funeral of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the morality police. Amini died days after the morality police detained her for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Amini’s death sparked widespread protests across the country, which Tehran has referred to as “riots.”

Mohammadi covered Amini’s funeral in her hometown of Saqez, where the protests started. Mohammadi, who works for the pro-reform news outlet Hammihan, and another journalist, Niloofar Hamedi, went on trial on charges of “colluding with hostile powers” for their coverage of Amini’s death. Tehran blames its foreign adversaries for the protests. The charges against Mohammadi and Hamedi potentially carry the death penalty under Islamic law.

“The trial of Elaheh Mohammadi went well. The date of the next session will be announced by the court,” said Mohammadi’s lawyer Shahbeddin Mirlohi in comments to ILNA.

Back in October, Iran’s intelligence agency accused both Mohammedi and Hamedi of being foreign agents for the CIA. Hamedi took a photo of Amini’s parents at a hospital where their daughter was confined and in a coma. Both Mohammedi and Hamedi were detained in Evin prison since September and will face trial separately.

Meanwhile, Iran has also come under increased scrutiny for its alleged assistance to Russia in its war with Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament approved a sanctions package that targeted Iran, which Kyiv has accused of sending weapons to Moscow. The legislation was approved on Monday, a day after Ukraine said Russia was using Iran-made Shahed drones in what would be the largest drone attack by Russia on Kyiv since its invasion in February last year.

“The resolution synchronizes Ukrainian sanctions with the actions of the entire civilized world on the path to the complete isolation of Iran,” said the Ukrainian parliament on its website.

Photo: Garry Knight/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)