Two Iranian journalists, both women, did what an independent journalist should do when they see injustice – they reported it. Reporters Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi helped expose the tragedy of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman. The woman died after being detained in Tehran on September 16 by the Islamic “morality police” on suspicion of violating headscarves. Her death sparked a nationwide uprising led by a woman. Now journalists are in prison just for spreading facts.
The riot was sparked by a photo of the hospital where Amini died. The photo went viral on social media and triggered an outpouring of dissatisfaction and anger against Islamic theocracy. Authorities claimed her 22-year-old Amini suffered a heart attack. Her family said she was beaten by police. Her death appears to have brought a wave of young Iranians to the streets who had not participated in earlier protests in 2009.
Hamedi, a reporter for the reformed daily Shargh, published a widely circulated report from Kasra Hospital where Amini died, and also shared a photo of Amini’s distraught family. The Washington Post’s Miriam Berger reports that Mohammadi, a journalist for Ham Mihan, another daily affiliated with Iran’s reformist politicians, held Amini’s ceremony in her hometown of Saqez in northwestern Kurdistan. He wrote that he had reported on the funeral. Security forces attacked mourners when they shouted anti-regime slogans and women removed their mandatory headscarves.
Government authorities arrested Hamdi on 22 September and Mohammadi on 29 September. They were accused of being spies for his CIA and “a major source of news for the foreign media.” The espionage charge carries the death penalty. A statement from Iran’s intelligence agency claimed the CIA coordinated the journalist’s report and was joined by British and Israeli spies. warned.
Do not believe such nonsense. The two journalists had a job, and Amini’s death was also reported by others. That they had to concoct his CIA conspiracy in the wild when even the most rudimentary intelligence-gathering revealed that the streets were riddled with discontent reveals a lot about the Iranian security services. It tells a story. Six weeks after Amini’s death, he announced plans to hold a public trial of 1,000 people after students clashed with security forces in Tehran on Sunday and authorities were accused of inciting unrest on Monday. Overall, at least 270 people have been killed and 14,000 arrested since the protests began.
Iran is convulsing with generations of rebels. The Iranian leadership is in denial and is looking for a scapegoat between the journalist and his CIA. This is a dead end. Only giving the Iranian people the freedoms they have demanded and crave will end the unrest.
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