Iran: CFWIJ condemns the prison sentence given to Mehrnoush Tafian and Narges Mohammadi
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November 12, 2021, Tehran - State authorities continue to persecute women journalists in the country in an attempt to silence the valid human rights concerns they raise. On September 26, Narges Mohammadi confirmed that the courts have sentenced her to prison due to the nature of her work. Less than a month later on October 20, Mehrnoush Tafian's prison sentence was also announced by judicial authorities. The country has a long and worrying history of targeting and silencing women journalists by subjecting them to long prison sentences and the latest example of sentencing two journalists for merely doing their job adds to this concerning trend.
Narges Mohammadi confirmed on Instagram that she was sentenced to 36 months in prison, a fine and 80 lashes. In her post Narges made it clear that she does not intend to cooperate with authorities as they go about suppressing free press with such impunity.
"Ever since they began constructing this case, I have not participated in any hearing, I have not had a lawyer and I have not written a word in my defence,” she wrote, adding, “And of course, despite my summons, I did not show up at the prison. They can come and get me by force and once in prison I will denounce this injustice.”
This is not the first time the state has targeted Narges who is who was also the spokesperson of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders in Iran in addition to being a journalist. Between 2015 and 2020, Narges has spent several months in prison for her commitment to upholding civil rights in the country. In fact, in 2019, she was also subject to police violence in the form of physical assault while in custody.
In a separate incident, freelance journalist Mehrnoush Tafian was given a sentence of 91 days in jail as well as one-year suspended prison custody for covering a protest demonstration by the working class against their displacement by a wealthy religious foundation. The event took place in October 2020, following which she was immediately arrested. Although let go two days later, Mehrnoush spent the past year facing persistent legal harassment before the judgement was officially announced.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the attitude of the Iranian state towards principles of free press in general and women journalists in particular. Neither demanding greater rights nor covering a protest should be criminalized. To subject journalists to prison custody and lashings for merely doing their job is absolutely appalling. We have extensively covered the actions of the Iranian regime when it concerns civil liberties like freedom of press and expression and the ever accelerating pace of the state's draconian actions is a cause of great concern.
