The Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced imprisoned female journalists Niloufer Hamedi and Elaha Mohammadi to six years in prison each.

Parto Burhanpur and Hojjat Kermani, lawyers for Niloufar Hamedi, and Shahabeddin Mirlohi, lawyer for Elaha Mohammadi, confirmed on Sunday (11 August) the sentencing of the two women journalists by the court.

According to the lawyers, the journalists, who were sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison in the first hearing, were acquitted of the charge of 'collaboration with foreign governments'.

The Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced both journalists to 6 years in total, 1 year in prison for 'propaganda against the regime', 5 years on other charges.

Niloufer Hamedi's lawyers stated that their client's case was related to the protests that started after the murder of Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in Tehran in October 2022.

The lawyers stated that since their clients were acquitted of the charge of collaboration with a foreign state, their sentences should be postponed within the framework of the General Amnesty Circular and said, "This case, like many other defendants, should be terminated by making use of the amnesty circular."

Niloufer Hamedi and Elaha Mohammadi were the first journalists to report on the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. In response, security forces arrested them on the 21st amd 29th of September 2022. They were sentenced to 12 and 13 years in prison in 2023 on charges of "making propaganda", "committing offences against national security" and "collaborating with a foreign state".