Iranians Launch Online Storm For Journalists Who Broke Mahsa’s Death

Iranians have launched an online storm calling for the release of Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi who first reported the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September.

The two journalists – from reformist Iranian dailies Sharq and Ham-Mihan – have been imprisoned for about 300 days because the regime blame them for the nationwide protests that followed the death of the Iranian Kurdish girl. Since her tragic death, Amini has become the icon of Women, Life, Liberty movement, the boldest uprising the regime has faced since its establishment.

The Islamic Republic is known to crack down on people who reveal corruption and wrongdoing in Iran, with authorities announcing that reporting the crimes is worse than the crimes themselves.

The Twitter and Instagram storm was instigated by the husbands of the two journalists -- Mohammad-Hossein Ajorlou and Saeed Parsaei ahead of their next trial hearings. Acting on the call, Iranians rose up with hashtags with the reporters’ names trending in addition to the campaign tag #JournalismIsNotACrime.

The two journalists, whose second court hearing is scheduled for later in the week, have been charged with propaganda against the regime and conspiracy to commit acts against national security, which could bear death sentences.

The duo have become symbols of free journalism and resistance against the regime’s oppressive rule, with a large number of people calling for freedom in their posts.

Hamedi, managed to visit Mahsa Amini in Tehran’s Kasra hospital and broke the news of her grave condition after being taken into the custody of the 'morality' police three days earlier for wearing her hijab “improperly”. Amini was in a coma at the time.

Mohammadi, likewise, managed to travel to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in western Iran to report on her funeral on September 17, which thousands attended.

The first session of Mohammadi’s trial presided by the notorious judge Abolghasem Salavati was held behind closed doors at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran late in May.

Hamedi’s hearing was held the following day by the same judge and in the same manner. Lawyers of the two journalists were not allowed to speak. The Iranian Constitution stipulates that trials of political prisoners and journalists should be public and with the presence of a jury.

A lot of well-known Iranian human rights activists have participated in the online campaign.

Arash Sadeghi, who has been arrested and jailed on multiple occasions for his activities in defense of human rights, said, “Journalism is not merely a profession; it's a belief in uncovering the truth. Whoever seeks to illuminate with the torch of truth will find their esteemed place in society.”

Rights activist Atena Daemi said on her Twitter page that “the killers of Gina (Mahsa) and thousands of other people are free, but those who expose these murders are being punished!" 

Shiva Nazarahari − Slovenia-based human rights activist and a founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters – said the two are among the most committed and active women advocates for women's rights in recent years, covering issues related to allowing women into sport stadiums, violence towards women, and advocating for reproductive rights. “We will not forget them,” she vowed.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said in her Telegram channel that "Niloufar and Elahe are innocent. They will remain exemplary models of commitment in journalism. We will not leave them alone."

The Telegram channel of the ultrahardliner Raja News claimed that “anti-Iranian media” are trying to “reduce” the arrest of the two journalists to their coverage of Mahsa Amini’s death. Meanwhile it has been trying to implicate the women in underground revolutionary activity and acting as foreign agents, the most common allegation levied at rights activists and those speaking out against the regime.

The outlet affiliated to the ultraconservative Paydari Front wrote that “reliable information” suggests the two “participated in training courses of institutions that seek the overthrow [of the Islamic Republic] and had connections with foreign intelligence services,”

Iran's intelligence ministry and SAS, the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) even accused Mohammadi and Hamedi of being CIA agents. “Using the cover of a journalist, she was one of the first people who arrived at the hospital and provoked the relatives of the deceased and published targeted news,” they said in a joint statement.