Journalist Sorosh Farhadian Condemned to One Year Prison Sentence Again
Saeid Mirmohammadi, lawyer for journalist Sorosh Farhadian, says that this journalist has been sentenced to one year in prison for the third time in the past three years by the Revolutionary Court on charges of “propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic system.”
According to some media reports, Judge Solavati, head of Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, sentenced this journalist to one year in prison and two years of deprivation from media activities based on a complaint from the Ministry of Intelligence on charges of “propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic system.” Although, following an appeal, the journalist’s sentence was changed to imprisonment and deprivation from media activities.
Prior to this, Sorosh Farhadian was sentenced to seven months in prison in 2016 by the Markazi Province Revolutionary Court due to a speech during parliamentary elections, a sentence that was later converted to a fine in the appeals court. Additionally, approximately one month after this sentence was finalized, another case was filed against him on charges of propaganda against the system, which Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him to one year in prison in 2017 under Judge Moghisseh’s presidency.
This is not the first time prison sentences have been issued for a journalist in Iran. Recently, the International Federation of Journalists condemned the issuance of prison sentences for three Iranian journalists named Marzieh Amiri, Masoud Kazemi, and Kiumars Marzban by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Repeatedly in the past, international human rights organizations and the United States government have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of speech and suppressing civil activists, calling for the release of journalists and writers who have been imprisoned solely for carrying out their duties and professions.
Source: Voice of America
