Twitter Storm for Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi; 'The Place of Truth Tellers is Not in Prison'

The summons of Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, journalists from Shargh and Ham-Mihan newspapers, who are referred to as narrators of the 'fate' of Mahsa Jina Amini and the 'suffering' of her family, has sparked a wave of reactions in the Persian-speaking virtual space. Mahsa Amini, a young girl from Saqqez, was arrested on the streets over the issue of mandatory hijab while visiting relatives in Tehran in September 2022, and later died in custody. Her death led to widespread and unprecedented protests across Iran, known as 'Women, Life, Freedom.' Shortly after Mahsa's death, Niloufar Hamedi was arrested for reporting on her death, and Elahe Mohammadi for a report titled 'A Nation in Mourning' about Saqqez, where Mahsa lived and was buried, facing serious security charges. After more than a year of temporary detention, both were sentenced to long-term imprisonment but were temporarily released in December of the following year on bail of 10 billion tomans. Given that their lawyers stated they were covered by the 'Amnesty Directive of 2022,' it was not expected they would be summoned to serve their sentences. This expectation grew especially after the election of Massoud Pezeshkian as the ninth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his electoral promises. However, Asghar Jahangir, the spokesperson for the judiciary, said in a press conference on November 1 that these two journalists had been acquitted of all charges related to the protests of 2022 and that their five-year sentence was related to before 2022 and was security-related. Following their summons to prison by the judiciary, criticisms of Pezeshkian's government increased, culminating in a Twitter storm at the end of October 2023, particularly under the hashtag 'Elahe Niloufar Freedom.' The Persian-speaking virtual space is filled with photos of Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, their spouses and family members, images of Mahsa Jina Amini and her grave, and a famous picture of Amjad Amini, Mahsa's father, in the hospital, embracing her mother and crying upon hearing of his daughter's death. The widespread sharing of videos and images of these two journalists' freedom after their one-year temporary detention has been accompanied by demands that this freedom be 'permanent.' Many social media users have written that since Niloufar and Elahe stood on the side of 'truth,' defending them is defending the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, and their request for 'liberation' is support for their action in 'liberating the truth.' Users refer to the request for the freedom of these two journalists from Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, by at least '31,000 cultural figures, journalists, and social activists,' a request that some users have stated should also include 'their return to their editorial offices.' Support from Katayoun Riahi and Taraneh Alidoosti, two actresses who have paid a high price for openly opposing mandatory hijab and supporting protesters, has created a wave in the virtual space and led to appreciation for them and support from women artists for the protests of 2022. Users have criticized that in Iran, 'telling the truth' is considered a 'criminal' act, and the famous phrase 'journalism is not a crime' has been repeatedly shared in Persian and other languages such as English and German. 'The eyes and ears of citizens in Kowsar Hospital and Aichi Cemetery,' women who did not let a woman 'burn' in solitude and anonymity, 'the voice of Iranian girls,' 'the symbol of the fate of media,' 'the reflection of wounds on the fragile body of journalism' in Iran, 'the voice of freedom,' and 'the symbol of truth-telling' are just some of the descriptive words and phrases used in the virtual space for these two journalists. Many users criticizing the summons of these two journalists are journalists themselves, some of whom have been forced to abandon their work and earn a living through other means. Journalists' criticisms of supporters of Massoud Pezeshkian and the president himself, who previously stated that 'it makes a difference who the president is,' have sharply increased. Elahe Khosravi, a journalist, tweeted: 'Mr. Pezeshkian, put aside the excuse of separation of powers. You must also be accountable for why these kids have to go to prison. You must answer why the hijab and chastity bill was passed. You should be accountable for why you became president when you do not defend the rights of the oppressed.' Previously, many figures close to the reformist movement, including Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister during Hassan Rouhani's administration, had spoken about the 'separation and independence of powers' in response to foreign journalists regarding human rights violations in Iran, which had also faced much criticism at that time. Fatemeh Rajabi, a journalist, wrote: 'In the case of Elahe and Niloufar, the role of the government is very important; after all, the case officer for the kids is the Ministry of Intelligence, and demanding accountability from the government and Mr. Pezeshkian is not unrelated.' Many journalists have written that defending these two journalists is a professional act in defense of 'freedom of expression' and 'narrating the truth' in a country where, according to journalist Saeed Arkanzadeh, 'the fact that a certain institution or ministry withdraws its complaint against the media or commemorates Journalist Day with exaggerated phrases is the surface and facade of the matter. The essence of their mindset and depth of their view on media and journalism can be understood from the imprisonment of Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi.' After Pezeshkian's presidency and the release of several media and virtual activists who had been imprisoned due to complaints from certain governmental and state officials, Mohammad Reza Aref, the first vice president, announced in a directive to all executive bodies that no official or governmental institution has the right to complain against any journalist or media without the 'approval and review' of the government's information working group. Supportive media of the government have written that this directive was issued with the aim of 'reducing tensions between the government and the media and preventing unnecessary complaints,' and 'if implemented correctly, it would be a valuable action and initiative in legally supporting media, media activists, transparency, and free circulation.' However, some journalists have deemed these actions as 'performative' and written that the 'real view' of the Islamic Republic towards journalism and journalists should be observed in the treatment of Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi and other journalists throughout the decades of this regime's establishment.