As the crackdown on journalists, activists and political prisoners in Iran continues, hundreds of people signed a joint letter calling for a halt to the prison sentences given to journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi.
Two young female journalists, Niloufar Hamidi and Elaheh Mohammadi, were sentenced to long prison sentences in Iran for reporting on the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini by the ‘Morality Police’ on the pretext that she did not cover herself according to Islamic rules.
Niloufar Hamidi and Elaheh Mohammadi were initially tried on charges of ‘co-operation and assembly against national security’ and ‘propaganda activities against the regime’ and sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively.
The journalists, who were released in January after 17 months in pre-trial detention, were acquitted of the charge of ‘co-operation with the United States’, after which their sentences were reduced to five years each.
More than 500 journalists, artists, activists and intellectuals have sent a joint letter to the head of Iran's judiciary, Gholam Mohsen, calling for a halt to the prison sentences given to journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi.
According to East Kurdistan media, the letter called on Ghulam Mohsen to use his authority to withdraw the 5-year prison sentences handed to the two journalists who are standing trial because of their reports on the murder of Jina Amini and her funeral.
On the other hand, Nesrîn Shakremî, the mother of Nîka Shakremî, who lost her life during the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ protests, was taken into custody last week.
Nîka's sister Ayda Shakremî announced that her mother was being held in a temporary prison under the Ministry of Intelligence in Khorramabad in Lorestan province and that she was banned from phone calls and visits. Ayda Shakremî stated that they did not know what charges her mother was facing. Nesrîn Shakremî had previously announced in a video message to Radio Ferda that her daughter had died as a result of a blow to the head.
According to Eastern Kurdistan media reports, political prisoner Hacer Saidi in Evin Prison is prevented from medical examination and treatment. It is reported that medicines sent by her family were not accepted by the prison authorities and were not delivered to Hacer Saidi.
Hacer Saidi, a member of the Women's Assembly and labour rights activist, was detained in October 2023 for her advocacy for women's and labour rights and sentenced to imprisonment by the 1st Chamber of the Sineh Revolutionary Court on charges of ‘assembly and opposition against national security’.
