Disagreement Between Investigator and Prosecutor Regarding Charges Against Two Imprisoned Journalists

The lawyer of Eisa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani reported that despite the investigator's opposing opinion, the prosecutor and the head of Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court have charged these two imprisoned journalists with heavier crimes such as 'acting against national security through conspiracy and collusion' and 'insulting officials.' Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai stated in an interview with Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, February 1, that there was a 'disagreement' between the investigator and the Tehran prosecutor regarding the case of these two journalists, which ultimately led to the case being referred to Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, where Judge Abolqasem Salavati ruled in favor of the prosecutor. According to Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai, the investigator believed that the actions of these journalists only constituted the charge of 'propaganda against the regime,' while the prosecutor argued that these actions, in addition to 'propaganda against the regime,' also fell under the charges of 'acting against national security through conspiracy and collusion' and 'insulting officials' of the Islamic Republic. He also mentioned that 'some of these journalists' have been accused of 'spreading falsehoods' without naming them. The maximum prison sentence for the charge of 'propaganda against the regime' under the laws of the Islamic Republic is one year. However, for the charge of 'acting against national security through conspiracy and collusion,' the sentence can be up to 10 years, and for 'insulting officials' of the Islamic Republic, it can be up to two years in prison. Thus, the prosecutor and the head of Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran have imposed heavier charges on these two imprisoned journalists despite the investigator's opposing opinion. Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai also noted that the case of these two journalists is in the hands of the prosecutor and predicted that an indictment would be issued for them 'soon' and the case would be sent to court. He added, 'Considering the end of the two-month temporary detention of the defendants today, a decision must be made today regarding the status of their detention, based on which either the detention order will be renewed or another order will be issued.' Eisa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Afrin Chitsaz, and Saman Safarzaei were arrested on November 2, and the IRGC announced after their arrest that they had 'arrested members of a Western government infiltration network.' Ebrahim Raisi, the Attorney General of Iran, also referred to these journalists on Wednesday, November 3, as 'an infiltration network in the media and social networks' and 'spy elements and American mercenaries.' On the same day, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, warned that 'the word infiltration should not be played with.' Rouhani's reference was to the concept of 'infiltration' mentioned by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, who has spoken about it several times in recent months and warned against it, followed by several senior officials in the government, including the commander of the IRGC, who have made threats. In this context, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also confirmed on Saturday, November 6, that the purpose of these arrests was 'political settling of accounts' and emphasized that the worst way to confront infiltration is 'to politicize it.' Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, expressed concern that the aim of these arrests was 'to create terror in the expression of journalists before the elections.' However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on Wednesday, December 25, that 'the essence of the issue of infiltration and the importance of this matter should not be downplayed by referring to potential misuse and politicization.' In this regard, there are concerns about the physical condition of Eisa Saharkhiz in prison, protests from dozens of journalists against the detention of journalists on 'baseless' charges, the IRGC's media-security activities against journalists, and the reaction of Reporters Without Borders to a new wave of 'arrests, summons, and threats' against journalists. An IRGC expert stated that the detained journalists were linked to Western espionage networks.