Journalists' Guild Calls for 'Fair and Public Trial' of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi

On the eve of the trial of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, imprisoned journalists, the Journalists' Guild of Tehran Province demanded a 'fair and public trial' for these two reporters. In a statement released on Friday, June 5, the guild expressed the expectation of the press community for a 'fair and public trial' of their colleagues and emphasized the serious demand of journalists for the 'clarification of the truth' regarding the charges against the two journalists. They have been accused of 'collaborating with the U.S. government,' 'conspiracy against national security,' and 'propaganda against the regime,' with their trial scheduled for June 8 and 9. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, has denied the allegations of collaboration with the U.S. against these journalists. The Journalists' Guild of Tehran Province emphasized that 'holding a public trial can also help journalists operate in a more transparent and secure environment.' Niloufar Hamedi, a reporter for Shargh newspaper, and Elaheh Mohammadi, a reporter for Ham-Mihan newspaper, were arrested about eight months ago while covering news related to the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini in custody of the morality police. Alongside the requests from the families of these imprisoned journalists, many professional organizations, journalists, civil society activists, and human rights advocates have recently called for a public trial for them. The Committee for Following the Status of Detained Journalists criticized the procedures of media trials in a statement and called for the public trial of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi. Among the proponents of the public trial are Ahmad Zeidabadi, a media activist, Emadeddin Baghi, a civil and human rights activist, Azar Mansouri, a reformist political activist, Abbas Abdi, a researcher and media activist, Elaheh Khosravi, a journalist, and Maryam Lotfi, a journalist. Judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have not yet responded to this public demand. The Kayhan newspaper, which is managed under the supervision of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, criticized this public demand, calling the public trial a 'new excuse for chaos.'