Saeedeh Shafiei: I Want to Fall into a Deep Sleep and Never Wake Up

Saeedeh Shafiei, a protesting journalist who was briefly detained during the protests of 2022, wrote on Tuesday, October 2, "I am in the most ambiguous days of my forty-year life; bad financial, mental, and social conditions. I want to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up." She added, "I am waiting for a text message regarding the execution of sentences. I have lost my job and I don’t even know if I will be given a chance to start working again or if I will soon have to go to Evin." The news agency of human rights activists in Iran, HRANA, reported on Tuesday, September 26, that the case of Saeedeh Shafiei and Nasim Soltanbeigi, two female journalists, has been sent to Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. According to a ruling issued by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, Saeedeh Shafiei and Nasim Soltanbeigi have been sentenced to four years and three months in prison, in addition to being banned from leaving the country for two years and prohibited from membership in groups. They were convicted of "conspiracy and collusion against national security" and "propaganda activities against the regime," while Mehrnoush Zarei was acquitted of these charges. According to the report, Iman Afshari, who presided over the initial court session, insulted them while referring to the writings of these journalists on social media, dragging the court into "debate and controversy," which was not part of the charges against them. Saeedeh Shafiei, a journalist and author of the books "Daughter of the Spiral" and "Gorokhano Station," was arrested by security forces in Tehran on January 22 and was temporarily released on February 7 on a bail of 500 million tomans until the end of the legal proceedings. The case of the two journalists, Nasim Soltanbeigi and Saeedeh Shafiei, has been sent to the appeals court. The conviction of the two journalists to more than four years in prison and a two-year exit ban from Iran has been reported. Human Rights Watch: The trial of three female journalists in Iran is a continuation of "relentless repression." The pressure on the media community continues; three female journalists have been summoned to court. Government propaganda about "leadership amnesty" coincides with the poor physical condition of some political prisoners. The release of several female prisoners: half of those released were prisoners before the protests. The continued detention of journalists; Melika Hashemi, Saeedeh Shafiei, and Mehrnoush Zarei have been transferred to Evin.