An Iranian court has sentenced journalist Sara Masoumi to six months’ imprisonment and a two-year journalism ban for investigating the death of 16-year-old Kurdish girl Armita Garawand. Garawand died on 28 October after spending 28 days in a coma, reportedly as a result of a confrontation with the authorities over the country’s hijab law.
Wednesday’s verdict against Masoumi was linked to an online publication that questioned the circumstances of the young girl’s death, lawyer Ali Muctahedzadeh told Iran’s Shargh newspaper. The newspaper reported that the charges were for spreading false information.
Journalist Maryam Lutfi was also briefly detained in Tehran in early October after visiting the hospital to assess Garawand’s condition.
Garawand’s death occurred one year after the case of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iranian morality police on 13 September 2022 for not complying with the country’s hijab regulations. Amini was severely beaten, fell into a coma in custody and died in the intensive care unit of a Tehran hospital on 16 September.
Recently, two female journalists, both reporters on the death of Amini, were also sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison by the Islamic Republic.
Amini’s death sparked a nationwide movement across Iran under the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ (Woman, Life, Freedom). Women-led uprisings, originating in the western Kurdish provinces known as Rojhilat, spread across the country, and the regime’s response resulted in at least 500 deaths and thousands of injuries. Despite the Amini family’s complaint against those responsible for her death, no action has yet been taken.
🔶European Parliament hosts 2023 Sakharov Freedom of Thought Prize, with this year's award going to protest icon Jina Mahsa Amini, and the 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' ('Woman, Life, Freedom') movement.#JinJiyanAzadi | #JinaMahsaAmini | #EuropeanParliment
🔗https://t.co/ZyZULxcExZ pic.twitter.com/0qehfo2Y7Z
— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) December 12, 2023
This year, Amini and the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ movement were awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize, the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. However, Iranian authorities prevented Amini’s family from attending the ceremony.