Journalists — particularly young women — who investigated the Mahsa Amini affair, whose death a year ago inflamed Iran, are systematically persecuted, human rights groups denounce.
A year ago, on September 16, the young Iranian Kurd died after her arrest by the moral police for non-compliance with strict Islamic clothing obligations.
Her death led to months of protests, repressed in blood and arrests, but the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising continued in different forms and appears to be one of the greatest challenges to the Iranian authorities since the revolution of 1979.
The journalists who revealed the affair and investigated its circumstances were particularly targeted by the repression. According to the Paris-based organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which denounces a “terrifying repression”, 79 journalists have been arrested in one year, and 12 of them are still behind bars. Including several women.
Less than a week after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 29-year-old journalist from the daily Shargh, Niloufar Hamedi, was arrested. She went to the hospital where Mahsa died and posted a photo of the grieving family on social media.
One of her sisters, Elahe Mohammadi, 36, from the daily Ham Mihanwho had traveled to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez to cover her funeral, was arrested on September 29.
The two journalists have been detained since then, and are currently on trial for violating national security, charges they categorically deny.
“Courageous work”
“The courage and commitment of Niloufar Hamedi must be rewarded, not punished. His imprisonment for almost a year illustrates the terrible repression implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran against journalists, and its rejection of press freedom and all reliable information,” declared Jonathan Dagher, an RSF official, in a press release.
A repression further illustrated by the arrest in early September of Elahe Mohammadi’s twin sister, Elnaz. Also a journalist, the young woman was sentenced to three years in prison, much of which was suspended, for conspiracy.
She and her co-defendant Negin Bagheri will have to serve less than a month in detention, according to their lawyer. But they will have to follow “ethical” training supervised by Iranian intelligence agents and are not allowed to leave the country.
“The Iranian government is determined to silence these two journalist sisters and the women whose voices they speak,” accuses Mr. Dagher.
RSF called for an end to “indiscriminate sanctions” against all journalists in the country.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), founded by lawyer Amal Clooney and her actor husband George Clooney, this year rewarded the two sisters with the Justice for Women award.
“Their courageous work brought the death of Mahsa Amini out of the shadows,” declared the CFJ.
“Don’t accept slavery!” »
A few weeks after the arrest of Mmy Hamedi and Mohammadi, the young Nazila Maroufian, now 23 years old, published an interview with Mahsa’s father, Amjad Amini, on the site Mostaghel Online. He accused the authorities of lying about the circumstances of his daughter’s death. The Amini family claims that Mahsa suffered blows leading to death, the official version speaks of a heart problem.
Since the publication of this interview, Nazila Maroufian has been arrested four times. Each time she left prison, she photographed herself without a headscarf, a challenge to religious power, one of the pillars of which is the compulsory wearing of the veil for women.
“Don’t accept slavery, you deserve the best!” » she wrote on one of her publications showing her leaving prison, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and one arm raised in victory.
Mme Maroufian, who was again incarcerated at the end of August, claimed in early September to have been the victim of a sexual assault in detention. Released a few days ago, she did not post a photo this time.