IRAN, TEHRAN, Sep 10 — The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the sentencing of three Iranian journalists Sepideh Qoliyan, Sanaz Allahyari and Asal Mohammadi for their reporting on labour rights and protests in Ahvaz last year.

The freelance journalists and labor rights activists have been sentenced for covering labor protests by Haft Tapeh sugarcane factory workers in November 2018, in Ahvaz, Iran. They have been charged for “propaganda against the state” and for “publishing falsehoods”.

The hardline judge of the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, Mohammad Moghiseh, ordered sentences for Sepideh, Sanaz, Asal along with their fellow journalists and activists.

“This is an alarming abuse of power, while it forfeits the ability for journalists to do their job in the country, covering protest being a key public issue in a country,” said founding director Kiran Nazish. “This sentencing of women journalists sets a particularly difficult precedent for the country where it is already hard for women journalists to work.”

The journalists and activists received sentences on the basis of the charges. Sepideh was sentenced for 18 years and six months. Gam reporters Sanaz Allahyari, Asal Mohammadi, Amir Amirgholi and the editor-in-chief of Gam, Amirhossein Mohammadifard were all sentenced for 18 years. Esmail Bakhshi, a Haft Tappeh worker and union representative, was sentenced for 14 years; while Mohammad Khonifar, a Haft Tappeh worker, was sentenced for six years.

The three women journalists were transferred from two different prisons in Ahvaz to Tehran’s Evin prison. Their case was forwarded to the Seventh Branch of Evin Prison and the motive behind their transfer was to keep their lawyers from participating in the hearing held in Branch 7 of the court, which was a blatant violation of human rights. The journalists have been prosecuted and convicted with national security charges for reporting the protests.

“This kind of censorship is taking a rise in Iran and it’s ironically very close to what happens in Saudi Arabia. We think Iran can do better and it must release the journalists,” said Ms. Nazish.

The sentences were issued on September 7, 2019, a little less than a year of reporting on the Haft Tapeh sugarcane factory protests. To stand in support for them, labor rights activists recently held demonstrations and shared evidence against the involvement of Intelligence MInistry agents in torturing the sentenced detainees in a bid to not just curb freedom of assembly but also freedom of press. The sentences are deemed as the Iranian authorities’ heavyhanded response to the protests for the provision of labor rights in the Islamic Republic.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands the release of the women journalists held in notorious conditions and urges the Iranian judiciary to revisit their decision. The freedom to speech and expression is the birth right of every human, and it is the duty of a journalist to report the facts and share it with the public.Attacks on press freedom in Iran must be lifted and the authorities must allow all of its citizens to practice their rights without the fear of being prosecuted for it.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org