Iranian Female Journalists Sentenced To Prison Amidst Media Repression

He made these statements in an introduction he wrote for a research paper on the topic of hijab.

In recent months, there has been a notable increase in police and judicial actions against women and girls who choose not to wear the mandatory hijab. The Hijab and Chastity Bill, which was approved by the Judicial and Legal Commission of the Parliament, to confiscate up to 10 percent of celebrities' assets and incomes if they violate hijab rule has been met with criticism as it targets women who refuse to comply with the mandatory hijab.

Addressing the issue, Mohammad Khatami wrote that “relying on coercion has not proven to be successful and has instead led to widespread protests”. He highlighted the need “to understand the diverse and evolving nature of society and seek realistic solutions to the challenges arising from this transformation.”

The opposition to the mandatory hijab has gathered pace, particularly in recent months after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, and the ensuing Women, Life, Freedom protests. Women continue to defy coercive measures imposed by the Islamic Republic and appear in public places without the mandatory hijab.

Recently, reports have surfaced regarding the regime's actions against institutions and online companies due to the publication of images of their female employees without the mandatory hijab.

Speaking to Tejarat News, a website in Tehran, lawyer Sara Bagheri said the proposed legislation is against individuals’ rights including their right to security and will hurt individuals’ reputation and dignity on account of their chosen style of clothing. 

Referring to article 51 of the proposed law which prescribes heavy cash fines for unveiling in public, Bagheri said what is considered as crime, and the corresponding punishment in this article and others, are very disproportionate. “Also, the bill does not make it clear what will happen if the person [found guilty] refuses to pay the fine,” she added.

Shima Ghousheh, a law expert, wrote in a commentary published by the reformist Etemad newspaper on Saturday, "The country’s whole budget should be used to build prisons for women because many Iranians will not be able to pay these [heavy] fines and should be sent to prison." She pointed out that the punishments for unveiling or "improper" hijab are much heavier than those prescribed by law for financial crimes, including embezzlement and drug-related offenses.

The hijab bill bans taking photos or videos of police while enforcing hijab but two of its articles, 36 and 37, allow law enforcement officers as well as civilians, provided that they have been trained and certified by the police, to take photos of the person violating the hijab law and post it to a special police portal. They will also be authorized to report businesses that have failed to comply with the provisions of the new hijab law. 

These two articles open the door to libel based on personal grudges against individuals, even when they have been compliant with the rules, and courts will have to deal not only with hijab infringement cases but also a vast number of legal cases resulting from personal grudges, experts say. 

Since March, hardliners have attempted to end women's increasing defiance of compulsory hijab and reclaim lost ground through various instructions to government bodies, but their efforts seem to have hugely backfired as the number of women who refuse to abide by the current rules has noticeably increased.

In a commentary published by Etemad, well-known Iranian lawyer Kambiz Nowrouzi strongly criticized a recent directive by Gilan Medical Sciences University, an affiliate of the health ministry, that bans hospitals under its coverage from offering services to unveiled women and called it "an astounding and horrendous example of violation of the [existing] laws and ethics."

Law expert Omid Salimi-Bani told the conservative Khabar Online news website Saturday that the bill, if approved, will add thirty new types of crimes to the list of crimes in the Islamic Republic’s existing laws. 

Some of the other “crimes” enumerated in the bill include “promoting unveiling” which may be considered as corruption on earth that bears a death penalty , “insulting the principle of hijab” which will be punishable by a cash fine of 1 billion rials ($2,000) for the first infringement, as well as designing, advertising or importing banned clothing, and refusal of businesses to submit their CCTV recordings to authorities for identification of unveiled women.

“Are these behaviors so abominable from the point of view of societal norms and people that they require punishment? It doesn’t seem that the majority of people think the same as those who have written the bill,” he said. 

“State and government culture-building has proven to be a failure and the Iranian example is one of the best,” reformist Ham-Mihan newspaper wrote Sunday and suggested holding a referendum to find out what most Iranians think about the issue of hijab. 

The regime and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have always refused suggestions of referendum which Article 59 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, which was approved by a referendum after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, proposes in “extremely important economic, political, social, and cultural matters.”

The National Press Club, the world’s leading professional organization for journalists with a 115-year history, named Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi as the 2023 international honorees for the Club’s highest honor for press freedom, the John Aubuchon Award.

Iran International’s Bozorgmehr Sharafedin – previously with Reuters – was also among the winners of the prestigious National Press Club Journalism Awards, winning Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence for co-authoring investigative report “America’s Throwaway Spies: How the CIA failed Iranian informants in its secret war with Tehran.” He wrote the Reuters Special Report with Joel Schectman in 2022. 

“This has been a year of momentous struggle for press freedom in Iran. According to studies, as many as 90 journalists were arrested during the protests that followed the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police. Our honorees: Niloofar and Elaheh, created some of the journalism that told Mahsa’s story and captured the hearts of protestors and especially Iranian women,” read a Friday statement by the club. 

The two journalists – from reformist Iranian dailies Shargh and Ham-Mihan – have been imprisoned for about 300 days because the regime blames them for the nationwide protests that followed the death of the 22-year-old woman.

Since her tragic death, Amini has become the icon of Women, Life, Liberty movement, the boldest uprising the regime has faced since its establishment. 

Hamedi, managed to visit Mahsa Amini in Tehran’s Kasra hospital and broke the news of her grave condition after being taken into the custody of the 'morality' police three days earlier for wearing her hijab “improperly”. Amini was in a coma with severe head wounds at the time and Hamedi’s photo of Mahsa’s parents hugging and crying went viral. She was arrested just days later. Mohammadi, likewise, managed to travel to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in western Iran to report on her funeral on September 17, which thousands attended. She was arrested for her coverage of Mahsa’s funeral and the unrest around it. 

The Islamic Republic is known to crack down on people who reveal corruption and wrongdoing in Iran, with authorities announcing that reporting the crimes is worse than the crimes themselves.

The two journalists, whose second court hearing was held this week, have been charged with propaganda against the regime and conspiracy to commit acts against national security, which could bear death sentences. The duo have become symbols of free journalism and resistance against the regime’s oppressive rule, with a large number of people calling for freedom in their posts.

The National Press Club added in the statement, “In the current climate the global journalism community has worked hard to raise awareness of Niloofar and Elaheh. They have been named to Time magazine’s Time 100 Most Influential People of 2023, among other recognition,” highlighting that “This Aubuchon award is being announced at this time to help draw attention to these two brave women and to protest their brutal treatment.” “We adamantly call for their safety and release.”

The outlet affiliated to the ultraconservative Paydari Front wrote that “reliable information” suggests the two “participated in training courses of institutions that seek the overthrow [of the Islamic Republic] and had connections with foreign intelligence services,”

Iran's intelligence ministry and SAS, the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) even accused Mohammadi and Hamedi of being CIA agents. “Using the cover of a journalist, she was one of the first people who arrived at the hospital and provoked the relatives of the deceased and published targeted news,” they said in a joint statement.

Azki.com is an insurance brokerage start-up in Iran that sells insurance contracts from main government insurance companies. The emergence of photos showing some female employees without headscarves drew the ire of hardliner media, demanding the government to close the company for not enforcing the hijab regulations.

In response to the controversy, Azki.com issued a statement on Sunday stating that it was compelled to suspend its operations pending a government investigation. The company clarified that the unauthorized publication of the photos did not reflect its commitment to enforcing the country's laws, including the mandatory hijab.

In recent times, Iran has witnessed an increasing number of women defying hijab rules and appearing in public without headscarves, particularly following anti-regime protests. The regime initially hesitated to react, fearing further public backlash, but it has since revived its 'morality police' patrols on the streets. These patrols stop women without hijab, interrogate them, and impose heavy fines or refer them to courts for potential severe punishments.

Azki.com's suspension comes in the wake of the government's previous action against Digikala, often dubbed as Iran's Amazon, which was shut down on July 24 for similar reasons. The company's female employees were photographed without hijab, leading to demands from hardliners to take strict measures against the retailer and its staff.

Both Azki.com and Digikala are among numerous companies targeted by the regime for allegedly violating hijab rules. As the government continues its crackdown, several businesses have faced closures due to violations related to employees or customers not adhering to the mandatory hijab regulations.

Complaining that some people mourned the slaying of the revered third Shiite imam Hussein in a way that “pleases the enemy”, a pro-regime cleric said in a sermon in Qom that these mourners have chosen a style to be attractive to foreign media. He was referring to independent Persian broadcasters abroad that give coverage to protests and reflect critical views about regime.

Ashura, commemorated on the 10th of the Islamic lunar month of Muharram, is the anniversary of the death of Prophet Muhammed’s grandson and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. 

Some of the mourning songs by ordinary people marking the occasion, particularly in the eastern city of Yazd, were ripe with allusions to the protest movement and those who were killed by security forces. Crowds led by maddahs or eulogists also sang verses about poverty and destitution among Iranians who have become poorer in the past five years mainly due to the impact of US sanctions and a failed economic system ripe with corruption. 

In an Instagram post Friday, Ehsan Abedi, director general of Yazd Department of Islamic Culture and Guidance, also criticized the critical style of mourning that troubles the regime and its hardliner supporters, and alleged that the “enemy’s media” is cheering.

Over the years, the government has invested money and energy to make Ashura and other religious occasions a show for its support among ordinary people, but this year’s phenomenon of many people trying to take back their religion has received wide coverage on social media. 

The online Institute for Iranian Civil Society (Tavaana) reported Friday that agents of the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization (SAS) threatened the organizers of Yazd’s famous mourning ceremonies to stop them from singing songs that criticize the regime, but the congregation sang the “Poppies Growing From the Blood of Motherland’s Youth” while leaving the mosque in protest to their interference. 

Social media users have reported that security forces clashed with mourners in the city and arrested some of them. 

In several other cities people also paid homage to young people who were killed by security forces during the Mahsa Movement protests in 2022 and early this year. 

In Amol in the northern Province of Mazandaran, mourners who were clad in white instead of the traditional black of Shia mourners gathered outside the house of Ghazaleh Ghalabi, 33, who was shot in the head on September 21, soon after protests broke out following Mahsa Amini’s death in the custody of the morality police and visited her grave.

Participants sang the well-known “Poppies Growing From the Blood of Motherland’s Youth”, a revolutionary song from the era of Iran’s Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911). Ghalabi’s mother, Fatemeh Mojtabaei, and some other women defiantly attended the ceremony unveiled. 

In Tehran security forces dispersed the mourning youth who were trying to gather outside the house of Hamidreza Rouhi, a university student who was killed by the security forces firing on protesters on November 18, 2022. 

In some cities including Tehran in protest to the regime’s brutality, some mourners tied their own hands and feet to flagpoles to commemorate the death of Khodanour Lojei, a young man shot to death on October 1 in Zahedan, capital of southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. 

A picture of Lojei with his hands and feet tied to a post with a bottle of water near him, which the thirsty young man could not reach, has turned into one of the icons of the protest movement. The performance alluded to the Shia belief that the Imam’s adversary, Yazid, cut his troops’ access to the waters of Euphrates and killed them after days of thirst in the parched desert.