Ready-Made Charges: How Iran Retaliate Against Opposing Journalists, Political Activists?

The Iranian regime continues to tighten its grip on journalists and political activists who criticize the government's mismanagement or domestic policies regarding freedom of expression, repression of liberties, and the misconduct of security agencies.

In the latest punitive measure against those engaged in online activities, Iranian media reports indicated that “some entities” had cut and disabled the communication cards of several journalists and political activists in Iran.

‘Labyrinth of Repression’

The Iranian newspaper Shargh confirmed on September 20, 2024, that these individuals had a prior record of political activism or arrests by the authorities.

A report titled “Punishment by Cutting SIM Cards” was published without naming the journalists and activists, using pseudonyms instead to protect their safety, fearing further legal repercussions.

The report included testimonies from several journalists affected by these actions. One journalist noted that she received a call from an unknown entity demanding that she delete political posts and photos from her accounts. She eventually agreed to stop her social media activities, after which her phone line was reactivated following several weeks of disconnection.

In this context, Iranian human rights lawyer Payam Dorafshan said such actions are not new.

“Some prosecutors have issued broad directives to enforcement agents, allowing them to summon individuals by phone. If they do not comply, their bank accounts are first frozen, followed by the deactivation of their mobile services.” 

Dorafshan added that this practice forces citizens to comply with enforcement agencies, which act under judicial orders.

The lawyer also pointed out that according to Iran’s legal framework, fundamental principles of fair legal proceedings, and the Islamic Penal Code, no citizen should be deprived of a fair trial process before a final ruling is issued. He said that blocking phone numbers can have far-reaching consequences, including the denial of basic civil rights and essential services like access to healthcare.

In the same vein, Shahla Orouji, a lawyer and member of the Central Bar Association, said that such punishments are not permitted by Iranian law.

“According to Article 36 of the Constitution, punishment must be issued by a competent court and according to the law. A judicial officer has no right to impose punishment.”

Imprisonment has become a routine for the opposition against the Iranian regime’s policies, given the ease with which authorities arrest activists and journalists and sentence them to many years merely for expressing an opinion on social media platforms or for reporting news that criticizes government performance and exposes its failures to the public or for covering protests in the country and the security response to them.

The Islamic Republic's systematic repression of journalists has resulted in a bleak position for the country in the RSF Index, where it ranks 176th out of 180 countries evaluated. Currently, Iran's ranking is lower than that of China and only slightly higher than North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea.

Despite the complexity of this labyrinth of repression designed by Iranian authorities to persecute journalists, it can be summarized in a very simple formula: “Either journalists practice self-censorship or they are detained.”

However, the ongoing arrests and harassment serve as evidence that some journalists and activists continue to challenge the state of repression against freedom of expression. Notably, on September 16, 2024, during the second anniversary of the murder of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini by the morality police, security forces launched a continuous campaign of arrests that included dozens of activists who called for the revival of protests both inside and outside the country.

On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini (22 years old) was severely beaten by the morality police for allegedly failing to adhere to proper attire, resulting in severe injuries that led to her being transferred to Kasra Hospital in Tehran, where she died three days later.

Following this, widespread protests erupted across various cities, dubbed the “Women, Life, Freedom” revolution, especially in Kurdish regions, which were considered the largest demonstrations since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979, resulting in the deaths of over 500 people, hundreds of injuries, and thousands of arrests.

Retaliatory Response

Reporters Without Borders has shed light on the crackdown initiated by the Iranian government against journalists for their coverage of the wave of protests that erupted following Mahsa Amini's death, which involved arbitrary arrests and trials on false charges.

The country has descended into a maze of governmental repression, witnessing the detention of 79 journalists, with 12 still imprisoned, while those who have been released find their freedom remains constrained.

The primary charge remains consistent: “anti-state propaganda.”

According to human rights organizations, in a “retaliatory response,” aggravated circumstances such as “prohibited gatherings,” “collusion against national security,” and even “cooperation with an enemy state” are often added to the charges against currently imprisoned journalists and activists in Iran.

Among the 79 journalists arrested since the protests began, 24 have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to six years for “anti-state propaganda.”

Iranian authorities have targeted female journalists covering the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that emerged after Mahsa Amini's death.

According to Reporters Without Borders, among the 79 journalists detained, 31 are women, making Iran one of the largest imprisoners of female journalists in the world.

Once arrested, most of these journalists find themselves trapped in the dark corridors of Iranian justice, where they face physical and psychological violence, judicial corruption, and bureaucratic dysfunction in their detention.

Sometimes, journalists simply disappear for hours before their loved ones learn they have been placed in solitary confinement.

When a hearing is scheduled, the date may be announced only to be canceled, or the session may occur without notifying the journalists' lawyers, or they might be informed only at the last moment, amidst a blackout on the procedures taken against them.

Iranian authorities are also tightening their grip on journalists by increasing the number of suspended sentences or intensifying release conditions.

‘Ready-Made Charges’

Iranian authorities have imprisoned Niloofar Hamedi (31) and Elaheh Mohammadi (36) in Tehran for nearly 17 months for their contributions to reporting Mahsa Amini's death in 2022.

Still, Mohammadi, a reporter for the Ham-Mihan newspaper, was sentenced in 2023 to six years in prison for espionage with the United States, five years for conspiracy against national security, and one year for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”

Hamedi, a photographer for Shargh newspaper, was sentenced to seven years for “espionage with the United States,” five years for “conspiracy against national security,” and one year for “propaganda against the Republic.”

Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate imprisoned since 2021 in Tehran, announced that 34 female detainees staged a hunger strike at Evin Prison in mid-September 2024.

The activist stated on a platform managed by her family, “We reaffirm our commitment to achieving democracy, freedom, and equality and to defeating theocratic despotism.”

In June 2024, the Iranian activist received another sentence of one year in prison for “propaganda against the state,” adding to a long list of other charges, including a total of 12 years and three months of imprisonment, 154 lashes, two years of exile, and various social and criminal penalties.

Notably, in January 2024, an Iranian court sentenced Safa Aeli (30), Mahsa Amini's uncle, to over five years in prison after convicting him of making anti-government statements during the 2022 protests.

The charges against Aeli include participating in protests that violate “internal security, disseminating anti-government propaganda, and insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”

Even journalists living abroad face constant threats; they often receive warnings from authorities, which sometimes escalate to the arbitrary detention of close relatives still residing in Iran.

This was the case for Shima Shahrabi, editor-in-chief of IranWire's Persian-language website.

After she fled the country, her brother, radio journalist Sajjad Shahrabi, was arrested in May 2023, interrogated about his sister's work, and imprisoned for over a month.

Silencing Voices

In light of this, it is evident that Iran tends to punish journalists who speak the truth and highlight the government's incompetence, rather than confront the flaws they reveal.

For instance, an Iranian journalist who uncovered a security vulnerability in a key government electronic system became the target of legal action initiated by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development at the end of August 2024.

Rather than addressing the critical flaws uncovered in the national housing and real estate system, the Ministry chose to file a legal complaint against the journalist who revealed them. The journalist’s identity remains undisclosed to the media.

The incident began when the Iranian news outlet Eghtesad Online conducted an investigation into the national housing and real estate system widely promoted by the government—a platform supposedly designed to ensure transparency and accountability regarding property ownership.

What they discovered was not just a flaw but a security failure; anyone with basic information, such as a postal code and national ID, could register any property, even those belonging to the ministry itself, as their own.

To illustrate this point, the journalist listed the ministry's headquarters for sale on a popular website called Divar, turning the situation into a subject of public ridicule and laughter.

In May 2024, the court in Sanandaj, western Iran, sentenced journalist Zina Madras Gorj to 21 years in prison for advocating for women's rights.

The Kurdish human rights organization Kurdpa reported that Judge Mohammad Karami issued a divided ruling in the case, sentencing Gorj to 10 years for “forming an illegal group aimed at overthrowing the regime,” another 10 years for “collaborating with hostile groups and governments,” and an additional year for “propaganda against the regime.”

Under Iranian law, the longest sentence is enforced when multiple sentences are imposed, meaning she will serve 10 years in prison; however, the court also imposed a 10-year exile following her release.

The ruling was officially issued on May 23, 2024, and her legal team has filed an appeal, requesting a retrial while contesting what they consider an “extremely harsh and politically motivated ruling aimed at silencing voices within the country.”

Analysts emphasize that the exile part of the sentence underscores the extent to which Iranian authorities are willing to go in suppressing dissent in the aftermath of the nationwide unrest triggered by Mahsa Amini’s death.

Gorj was initially arrested during protests following Amini's death, enduring a preliminary detention of 40 days on charges of “gathering and colluding against the regime,” before being temporarily released on bail.

She was rearrested in April 2023 and spent about a month in solitary confinement before being transferred to the general prison wing.

A March 2024 report by United Nations experts concluded that Iran's violent crackdown on protests, coupled with systemic discrimination, amounted to “crimes against humanity.”

The experts noted that the crime against humanity of persecution based on gender was accompanied by persecution based on religion or ethnicity.

They explained that “ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, in particular Kurd and Baluch minorities, have been disproportionally impacted by the Government’s crackdown on protesters since 2022, the direct result of long-standing discrimination that must end immediately.”

Many of the serious human rights violations documented by experts “amount to crimes against humanity” including killing, imprisonment, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts.

A striking example of the relentless pursuit of critics of the Iranian government's failures is the case of filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. In May 2024, just days after being sentenced to eight years in prison—five of which were enforceable—on charges of “colluding against national security,” Rasoulof managed to secretly flee Iran.

In a social media post, Rasoulof expressed that he had joined countless Iranians living in cultural exile beyond the country’s borders, enduring the oppression of a repressive regime.

Mohammad Rasoulof (51 years old) was arrested in July 2022 for encouraging protests that erupted following the collapse of a residential building in May of that year in southwestern Iran, resulting in the deaths of over 40 people. He was released in late 2023.