Reporters Without Borders Condemns Heavy Sentences for Iranian Journalists

Reporters Without Borders, on Tuesday, 26 April, issued a statement strongly condemning the "heavy sentences" given to three journalists in Iran. The statement referred to comments made by Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, who represents three of these individuals, indicating that these journalists have been sentenced to long prison terms. According to the report, after months of detention, Afrin Chitsaz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Davood Asadi, and Ehsan Safarzaei have been accused of a total of 27 years in prison. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, who represents all these individuals except for Ehsan Safarzaei, told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on Tuesday, 26 April, that Afrin Chitsaz has been sentenced to ten years in prison, Ehsan Mazandarani to seven years, and Davood Asadi to five years of imprisonment. Reporters Without Borders also mentioned the status of Ehsan Saharkhiz's case, stating that the handling of his case has been postponed due to the "lack of review of the case by the lawyer." He was transferred to the hospital on 10 March after a prolonged hunger strike and heart failure. Meanwhile, Iman Mirzazadeh, the defense lawyer for Ehsan Safarzaei, previously stated that his client has been sentenced to five years in prison. The charge against Mr. Safarzaei is "conspiracy and collusion aimed at undermining the security" of the country. Mr. Mirzazadeh has stated that he will submit an appeal against this ruling to the court in the coming days to seek a review of his client's sentence. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai had previously announced that the common charge for all these detainees is "propaganda against the regime, conspiracy, and actions against national security." Ehsan Mazandarani, the editor-in-chief of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, Afrin Chitsaz, a reporter for the state-run Iran newspaper, Ehsan (Saman) Safarzaei, a former reporter for the Etemad newspaper and a part-time reporter for Andisheh Pouya magazine, and Davood Asadi, along with Ehsan Saharkhiz, an independent journalist, were arrested on 11 November 2015. Despite the issuance of sentences for four of these individuals, Ehsan Saharkhiz is still awaiting his verdict.