The Mizan News Agency reported on Monday that the Iranian judiciary has initiated a new case against Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi subsequent to their release on bail. Upon their release, the duo appeared in front of a crowd outside the prison sans their hijabs which prompted this fresh influx of charges.
Hamedi and Mohammadi were initially apprehended by Iranian authorities back in September of 2022, during the aftermath of the protests sparked due to the passing of Mahsa Amini. Amini, the focus of the protests, died following her detention for failing to adhere to Iran’s obligatory hijab rules. While the authorities attributed her death to an existing medical condition, their accounts was widely repudiated which led to an eruption of nationwide demonstrations.
Hamedi, who had visited Amini during her coma at the hospital, revealed the story about Amini’s death which featured images of Amini’s grieving parents at the Tehran hospital where their daughter passed away. She was consequently arrested. Mohammadi, an employee of Ham-Mihan, a Tehran-based daily newspaper favoring reforms, was incarcerated a few days after her coverage of Amini’s funeral in Saqqez, Amini’s home city.
In October 2023, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court Branch 15 sentenced Hamedi to a 13-year prison term and Mohammadi received a 12-year sentence for several charges from collaboration with the US government and conspiring to commit crimes against the nation’s security, to propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s establishment. Bails were posted on their behalf and they were released on Sunday, appearing for a reunion outside the prison with multiple family members. The celebration was short lived. In less than 24 hours, due to their appearance without the hijab, new charges were presented against them.
In pursuit of substantial change and liberation from the metaphorical shackles of compulsory hijab laws, Iran has seen mass arrests of approximately 100 journalists since protests started in 2022. Human Rights Watch highlights the brute repression exercised by Iranian authorities that includes excessive and lethal force against protesters, unwarranted arrests of activists and journalists alike. Rights defenders, people guilty in the face of sham trials, and detainees have faced sexual assault, torture, and execution. The battle for freedom of expression wages on.