New Delhi: Iran's judiciary on Sunday announced prison terms for two women journalists who had been detained following their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini last year, an incident that triggered widespread protests across the nation, reported news agency AFP.
According to the judiciary's Mizan Online website, Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, and Niloufar Hamedi, 31, were both found guilty of collaboration with Iran's arch enemy the United States.
The Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammadi to six years in jail, while Hamedi was handed seven years in prison, said Mizan, according to AFP.
Additionally, both individuals were handed concurrent five-year prison sentences for charges of conspiring against state security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, as reported on the website.
This is a preliminary sentencing that can be appealed in 20 days, reported AP.
Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Amini’s death for wearing her headscarf too loosely, and Elaheh Mohammadi, who wrote about her funeral, have been held in Tehran's Evin prison since September 2022. Their trials started in May.
Hamedi worked for the reformist newspaper Shargh while Mohammadi for Ham-Mihan.
In August, Iranian media reported that authorities had questioned or arrested more than 90 journalists since the protests triggered by Amini's death in different cities erupted across the country, according to AFP.
Their trials were held behind closed doors and criticised by their families and lawyers.
International organisations defending journalists, such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have also condemned the trials and demanded their release.
The lawyer for the two journalists, Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, was detained in early January for more than three weeks before being released on bail.