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Iran: Iranian authorities continue their acts of reprisal towards journalist Masih Alinejad's brother.

October 19, Tehran, Iran—Journalist Masih Alinejad’s brother Alireza Alinejad's appeal on his unjust 8-year sentence has been rejected by the appeal court in Iran. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns this retaliatory act by the Iranian authorities and calls for the immediate release of Journalist Masih Alinejad’s brother.

Mr. Alireza was sentenced to 8 years in jail. He received five years jail for "assembly and collusion for action against the country's security," two years for "insulting the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader," and one year behind bars for "propaganda against the regime," his attorney, Saeed Dehqan tweeted on July 15, 2019. "Arresting the relatives of an activist in an attempt to intimidate her into silence is a despicable and cowardly move," Amnesty International's Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philip Luther, said in a statement on September 25, 2019.

The sentence was appealed against on October 19 and the revolutionary court rejected it. Mr.Alireza is being punished for refusing to disown, discredit and atone his journalist and women rights defender sister, Masih Alinejad. The journalist expressed her sadness over the court decision to retaliate from her brother due to her activism. Masih attacked the regime's failures and overall conduct and shameful human rights record.

Acts of reprisal against journalists and human rights defenders are becoming a custom by totalitarian regimes like Iranian and Egyptian ones. While the Iranian regime is targeting Journalist Masih’s brother and sentenced him because of his sister's activism and dissident views. The Egyptian regime put Filmmaker and journalist Sanaa Seif, sister of Activist Alaa Seif, in pre-trial detention for defending her brother. These acts require international condemnation. Although the UN has a unit against acts of reprisal, they have not been vocal about such hideous practices by these regimes.

Masih is an Iranian journalist self-exiled in the United States. She is the founder of the anti-hijab movement in Iran known as “White Wednesdays”. She works now as an anchor in VOA Persian service.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism expresses its condemnation for the act of reprisal towards journalist Masih’s brother and calls upon Iranian authorities to release him immediately. CFWIJ urges the UN mechanism for acts of reprisal to send an inquiry to the Iranian authorities about this case and to call for his release.

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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

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