Prison Sentence Issued for Another Journalist; Mehrdad Darvish Sentenced to 100 Days of Imprisonment

The Revolutionary Court of Bandar Lengeh sentenced Mehrdad (Mohammad) Darvish, a journalist, to six months of suspended imprisonment and 100 days of punitive imprisonment. According to the International Federation of Journalists, this Sunni civil activist was convicted of 'insulting the leadership' with a six-month suspended sentence and 'propaganda against the regime' with a punitive sentence of three months and ten days. The report does not mention the timing of the trial or the issuance of these sentences, nor does it provide information about the specifics of the charges against this journalist. Other charges against Mehrdad Darvish include 'spreading falsehoods' and 'incitement with the intent to disrupt national security.' This journalist, from the village of Padal in Bandar Lengeh County, was also arrested by security forces in Qeshm earlier this year and temporarily released on October 21 after about a month in detention, with a bail set at three billion tomans. Pressure on journalists in Iran and the arrest of some of them intensified with the onset of nationwide protests in 2022, and dozens of media activists were summoned, interrogated, and detained in the second half of last year, with judicial cases opened against several of them. Additionally, see: Release on bail; the charge of 'spreading falsehoods' against Maryam Shekarani following the re-publication of news about Armita Garavand. Previously, a journalist residing in Iran told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic's expectation from the media is 'to produce propaganda bulletins,' and journalists are pressured due to 'critical analyses' under vague titles such as 'blackening.' A judicial case has been opened for two female journalists in the Tehran Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. The ban on visits and phone calls for Nasim Soltanbeigi in Evin Prison has been extended. The International Federation of Journalists condemned punitive actions against three imprisoned female journalists. Intensified pressure on journalists; Monijeh Moazzen, an economic journalist, has been arrested.