Organization 'Defending the Flow of Free Information in Iran': Convictions of Journalists Increased 'Fivefold' in One Month

The latest report from the Organization for Defending the Flow of Free Information in Iran indicates that with the official start of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, the conviction of journalists has faced a fivefold increase. According to the organization's review for August 2024, corresponding to July 11 to September 10, 1403 in the Persian calendar, the number of convictions of journalists in Iran during this month increased fivefold compared to the previous month. The past month has been described in this report as 'a difficult month for independent and professional reporting in Iran,' during which 'at least 18 journalists and media outlets experienced judicial and security confrontations, and the judicial and security institutions of the Islamic Republic violated the legal rights of journalists in at least 12 cases.' The report states that this month 'began with the continued imprisonment of at least eight journalists and media activists in Iranian prisons,' and 'in the middle of this month, with the enforcement of Foad Sadeqi's prison sentence, the number of imprisoned journalists and media activists in Iranian prisons reached nine.' According to information on the website of the Organization for Defending the Flow of Free Information in Iran (Defai), this organization 'is a non-profit entity established by a number of journalists, human rights researchers, and lawyers' and aims to 'strengthen the flow of free information in Iran by documenting the suppression of media and journalists, conducting training courses, providing digital security advice, and supporting media activists and citizen journalists.' Last month, journalists including 'Vida Rabani, Shirin Saeedi, Nasrin Hosseini, Parisa Salehi, Saba Azarpeik, Kamyar Fakour, Rouhollah Nakhaei, and Yashar Soltani' were imprisoned, and during this time, '22 new cases' were documented by the organization's researchers, indicating that the level of 'judicial and security confrontations with journalists and media' increased by three cases compared to the previous month. Additionally, in recent days, a journalist named Ejlal Ghavami residing in Sanandaj was attacked with a knife and was hospitalized due to 'beating,' undergoing a two-hour surgery and remaining hospitalized for four days. Ghavami announced on Sunday that 'after four days of hospitalization at Kowsar Hospital in Sanandaj, I was discharged,' stating that he must visit his treating physician on September 9 to check the 'results of the surgeries performed' and 'if necessary, a third surgery will also be performed.' This journalist emphasized that medical documents related to his 'beating and severe injuries' are 'available in 62 pages.' Furthermore, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a political activist from the reformist faction of the Islamic Republic, stated that due to criticism of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, he has endured more than nine years of imprisonment and announced that he is now facing a new case for 'conspiracy and collusion to commit a crime against national security' and 'propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic.' New charges have also been filed against Shakila Monfared, a political prisoner, with a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison and enduring ten lashes. Reza Shahabi, Hassan Saeedi, and Keyvan Mohtadi have been released from prison. Two political prisoners stated in a letter: 'The dictatorial system' seeks to convey a message of terror and repression to the protesting people. Narges Mohammadi reacted to the killing of Mohammad Mir Mousavi, stating that the Islamic Republic is 'a regime filled with hatred, oppression, and discrimination.' Maryam Mehrabi, a imprisoned teacher in Isfahan, continues her hunger strike after four weeks. Tahrir Naqavi is experiencing stomach bleeding in Evin; Sina Youssefi stated that the Islamic Republic 'provides opportunities for the death of prisoners.'