Iranian Journalists Released from Prison Give Hope to Revolution Supporters

Two female journalists who have been in jail since reporting on the killing of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini by Iran’s morality police Oct. 2022 have been temporarily released on bail.

Niloofar Hamedi, a reporter for Shargh Daily, rushed to the Kasra Hospital in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 16, 2022, after one of her colleagues told her a Kurdish woman was in a coma, according to Reporters Without Borders. Hamedi met with Amini’s family and posted pictures of them, revealing Amini was in a coma. At the same time, Elaheh Mohammadi was reporting for Ham Mihan, another daily newspaper in Tehran, and covered Amini’s funeral.

Both Hamedi and Mohammadi were jailed days after their coverage on charges of “conspiracy and rebellion against national security” as well as “anti-state propaganda.” Their trials started May 29 and 30 of 2022, but neither of the journalists were allowed to access their prosecution files, according to their families.

In the midst of an escalating number of executions by Iranian authorities and economic instability across the country, Shadyar Omrani, Iranian journalist and educator, said their release may be a political play for the upcoming election.

“It is solely my personal interpretation of the current situation, [but I believe] the Islamic Republic does not wish to have the prisoners who can influence their inmates ‘not to vote’ because the state needs people to vote so they can easily claim their legitimacy amongst the masses that Iranian people believe in the regime,” Omrani said. “So, people like Elaheh and Niloofar are obstacles if they are in prison. But, they hadn't thought of how the whole society would perceive this. They were happy, and people were celebrating their release.”

Incarceration does not deprive Iranian citizens the right to vote, however, voting tolls are raised in prisons as soon as it is time to vote, according to Omrani.

“Revealing the truth can also put you in danger anywhere in the world,” Omrani added. “Things get worse when it is a totalitarian regime like Iran. [Under this regime], nothing you say really belongs to you. Whatever you talk about is no longer your right, but the right of the ruling class, so it can easily be censored.”

In response to viral photos of Hamedi and Mohammadi not wearing headscarves while celebrating their release, the Iranian Judiciary filed a new case against them the very next day.

“Their [breaking of the hijab code] would be a great excuse to put them back in prison since their release is temporary, or be another way to threaten civil society,” Omrani said. “As a journalist and a woman, you are playing with fire. Even if you are not doing anything wrong, like in the case of Elaheh and Niloofar, you can be very much intimidated, sentenced, tortured.”

Just Monday, journalist Saba Azarpeik was given a two-year sentence on charges of “disseminating false information, slandering, defamation, and threatening,” according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency, for her investigative reporting. Since January, over 20 journalists and media outlets have either been detained or undergone judicial scrutiny, according to a report by Defending the Free Flow of Information.

“Many of the journalists who have been released in the past two years, even if their charges were dropped, could not go back to their job,” Omrani said. “Some don’t even get the chance to get back home [before they are arrested again]. At the same time, I know how strong these people are. I know that they will not give up their rights or their rights to talk about what they really want and what and to portray that even as soon as they're released.”

Even with these threats, Omrani said the release of Mohammadi and Hamedi gives hope to those supporting the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom) social movement, which gained traction through the international protests surrounding Amini’s death.

“It is a revolution, and it is ongoing,” Omrani said. “Journalists are not giving up because people are not giving up. You also don’t see one person as a leader, and that is very hard for the Islamic regime to tackle because they don’t know who to arrest so that the movement [can be] done. It cannot be done as long as the hegemony is being made by the whole society.”