Three journalists are summoned to court in Iran, accused of "propaganda against the system"

2023-04-27 16:14:24, Kosova & Bota CNA

Three journalists are summoned to court in Iran, accused of "propaganda

Iranian journalists, Saeedeh Shafiei, Mehrnoush Zarei and Nasim Soltanbeigi.

Three prominent journalists from Tehran – Saeedeh Shafiei, Mehrnoush Zarei and Nasim Soltanbeigi – have been summoned separately to the Evin Court in Moghaddasi on charges that their reporting produced "propaganda against the system".

Activist news agency HRANA reported on Thursday, April 27, that the journalists received special invitations, requiring them to appear in court within five days to present their defense against the charges against them.

These subpoenas come at a time of increased scrutiny of journalists in Iran, as authorities try to control the dissemination of information amid widespread protests over issues such as living conditions, wages and lack of rights and freedoms.

A report by the Tehran Journalists Association indicated that since nationwide protests intensified following the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for an alleged violation of hijab rules, some 70 journalists have been arrested and some others have been summoned to appear in court.

In the indictments against Shafiei, Zarei and Soltanbeigi, the Iranian government cited their articles and writings as evidence that they produced "propaganda against the system." They deny these allegations.

Soltanbeigi was first arrested in December last year, at Tehran's Khomeini International Airport, while trying to leave Iran. After being held in custody for more than a month, she was temporarily released on bail on February 7 pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.

Soltanbeigi was a student activist in the 2000s and has worked as a journalist for various Iranian media outlets in recent years.

She was held in custody for eight days in 2006 for attending a "Women for Change" rally, before a court sentenced her to a five-year suspended sentence. After two years, she was told that her sentence would be overturned if she did not violate the terms of her parole.

Zarei, a veteran Iranian journalist, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on January 22. She was then transferred to the Revolutionary Guard detention center. Like Soltanbeigi, Zarei was released on bail in late February.

Similarly, Shafiei was arrested by security forces in Tehran on January 22. She was temporarily released on February 8 pending the completion of legal proceedings.

The latest summonses to appear in court come after unprecedented cases of opposition by women and schoolgirls in what appears to be the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

Amini died just days after being arrested by Tehran's notorious morality police on suspicion of violating Iran's strict dress code for women. Authorities have blamed "illness" as the cause of her death, but supporters and family members say Amini was beaten while in custody.

The protests have left more than 500 people dead and thousands arrested, according to human rights groups. Despite the government's warnings that attempts to stop the protests will intensify, Iranians continue to take to the streets./ REL