Iran releases journalists who reported on Amini death from prison

Iranian journalists Nilofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi
Imprisoned for reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent protests, Iranian journalists Nilofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were released from Tehran's notorious Evin prison over the weekend (image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Two award-winning Iranian journalists, Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, whose reports on the death of Mahsa Amini were among those to spark months of unrest in Iran, have been released from prison sentences on bail, local media reported. 

The Iranian newspapers Shargh and Hammihan, where the women worked, reported on Sunday that the two women had been allowed to leave the notorious Evin prison, where many Iranians critical of the state are held. 

In October, an Iranian court handed down seven and six-year sentences to Hamedi and Mohammadi respectively for their connections to the nationwide protests of 2022.

Mohammadi and Hamedi had been among the first to report on the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini soon after she was detained by Iran's morality police in September 2022 for allegedly allowing some hair to show under her hijab. 

Soon after the release of the two journalists following more than 400 days in prison, Mohammadi's sister, Elnaz, published a video on social media platform X showing the two walking free hand in hand and smiling. Hamedi's husband Mohammed Hussein Ajorlu posted a photo of himself and his wife arm-in-arm. 

Iran's journalists' association meanwhile criticised the high sum that was required to be paid for bail. 

Both journalists had subsequently been accused of collaborating with the United States and charged with offences against national security. 

Hamedi had been investigating the hospital where Amini died as a reporter for the Shargh newspaper and published a photo of the grieving parents that was seen around the world.

The case was heard before a notorious Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, whose presiding judge Abolqasem Salavati is known for particularly harsh sentences. 

Salavati himself has been singled out by EU sanctions for more than a decade. During the most recent wave of protests, Salavati handed down several death sentences to demonstrators. 

The case attracted a great deal of international attention. While Hamedi and Mohammadi were in prison, UNESCO awarded the women the UN Cultural Organization's World Press Freedom Prize for their reporting at the beginning of May.    (dpa)