Journalist who reported on the murder of a child wife sentenced to prison

Sina (Gholamhossein) Qalandari, a journalist who previously reported on the murder of a child wife by Rouhani's husband and his family in Lorestan, has been sentenced to imprisonment and banned from media activities.

According to a picture of the verdict that Mr. Qalandari posted on his Instagram page on Monday, November 14, he was sentenced to 13 months and 16 days in prison on the charge of "publishing lies" and to a similar sentence for "publishing private images," based on a verdict issued in absentia by the Kohdasht Criminal Court.

This journalist has also been sentenced to "deprivation of the right to work as a journalist and the closure of the Lorestan Telegram Radio Channel for two years" as an "additional punishment" for the charge of "disturbing public opinion and abusing hostile media and harassing complaints."

Sina Qalandari, a local journalist from Lorestan, reported in early September this year the murder of Mobina Souri, a 16-year-old teenager who was murdered by her husband and family members for "honor" reasons.

In an interview with the Hamdali newspaper in late September, Mr. Qalandari said that he was arrested following a complaint from the victim's family and the defendants in the murder case of Ms. Suri, and was released on bail after 11 days. He had gone on a hunger strike during his detention.

He also said that he was initially acquitted and after being released on bail, when he went to the prosecutor's office to hand over his personal belongings, he accidentally encountered the prosecutor, who reprimanded him for publishing the news, calling it "incorrect" and ordered the assistant prosecutor in charge of the case to "punish him in a way that he will not publish such news again."

Source: Radio Farda