Iran sentences journalist Marzieh Amiri to 10.5 years in prison, 148 lashes

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 27 August 2019

Marzieh Amiri, an economics reporter for Shargh Daily, has been sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and 148 lashes by Tehran's Revolutionary Guard. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned this harsh sentence.

Summary

Washington D.C. — The Committee to Protect Journalists has strongly condemned the Tehran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Branch 28 Court’s sentencing of Shargh Daily economics reporter Marzieh Amiri to 10 and a half years in prison and 148 lashes.

"With this heavy sentence, Iranian authorities are escalating their threats against journalists who report on economic issues amid the country’s ongoing crisis," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. "Marzieh Amiri’s reporting on the economic hardships of Iranian citizens is not a criminal act nor does it warrant this vindictive and violent response. She should be released immediately.”

CPJ could not determine the date of the sentence, the details of which were made public on August 24 in news reports and tweets by Samira Amiri, the journalist’s sister. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh charged Amiri with “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state” and “disturbing public order,” according to those reports.

Amiri must serve a minimum of six years in prison if the verdict is upheld in the country’s appeals court system, according to her sister’s tweets. Amiri was arrested on May 1, while she was covering a Labor Day demonstration in front of the Iranian parliament building in Tehran, as CPJ reported at the time. — A CPJ statement/Photo: AP