Whistleblower of Government Internet Shutoff During November Protests Sentenced to Prison and Banned from Journalism
Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian journalist, has been sentenced to imprisonment and banned from practicing journalism by an order from the Revolutionary Court.
This Iranian journalist, who was arrested twice during the past year for publishing texts regarding the internet shutoff during November protests and criticizing the government’s response to the coronavirus, announced on Wednesday, September 3rd, via a tweet that he has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to 4 years and 9 months in prison, 2 years of ban from journalism, and confiscation of communication equipment.
If this sentence is upheld by the Court of Appeals, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the aggregation of sentences, 4 years of the prison sentence will be enforceable as the most severe punishment.
According to Mohammad Mosaed, the judge in the case described this journalist’s media activities as “blackening,” “crisis-mongering,” “inciting the thoughtless audience,” and “undermining foundations,” and based on this, issued the aforementioned sentence.
Mohammad Mosaed, who previously worked for Shargh newspaper, no longer cooperates with any Iranian media outlet due to security pressures; however, he continues to be engaged in awareness-raising on social media networks.
Mr. Mosaed, coinciding with the November protests, responded to the internet shutoff in Iran on Twitter and wrote: “In the absence of internet, metropolises have been transformed into thousands of small, densely packed villages. When communication tools are cut off, the horizon of vision shrinks to just a few meters, and it no longer matters whether you are a few kilometers away or several thousand kilometers away. Congratulate the young minister equipped with internet-connected well-dancing helicopters.”
His second tweet was in English and received a very large response.
Mohammad Mosaed had written: “Tick tick hello free world… I used 42 proxies to write this. Millions of Iranians have no internet. Can you hear our voice?”
He was arrested after the announcement of the internet shutoff during the popular protests of November 2019, and after his release, he was arrested once more due to criticizing the Iranian government’s improper handling of the coronavirus.
In late July, this Iranian journalist was selected alongside three journalists from Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Russia by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the recipient of the 2020 “Freedom of Press” award. This international institution based in New York introduced Mohammad Mosaed as a journalist who has worked for several media outlets in the fields of corruption and labor issues.
Recently, the 3-year prison sentence of Keyvan Samimi, an experienced journalist and editor-in-chief of Iran Magazine, which was previously issued by the Revolutionary Court on charges of “assembly and collusion with the intent to undermine the country’s security,” was exactly upheld by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals. Mr. Samimi, in response to the issuance of this sentence, told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic has been pursuing a policy of suppression and punishment for 40 years and believes victory is achieved through creating terror and intimidation.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the violent actions of the Islamic Republic regime against the Iranian people, including civil activists, under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and continuous violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the regime’s agents.
Source: Voice of America
