ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has “pardoned” two journalists jailed for unveiling the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, whose killing in 2022 sparked the worst nationwide protests Iran had seen in decades.
The Iranian judiciary’s media center, Mizan, on Tuesday claimed that Elaha Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi were granted amnesty after “expressing remorse” and “asking for forgiveness.”
In a December 31 letter they allegedly wrote to the head of the Iranian judiciary, Hamedi and Mohammadi were quoted by Mizan as purportedly expressing “regret for their past behavior” and pledging “not to commit any illegal actions.”
According to Mizan, the two journalists additionally “expressed regret for the actions” that “led to their convictions.” The statement added that the two women were granted amnesty on the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hamedi and Mohammadi were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in jail respectively by an Iranian Revolutionary Court in October 2023. They were convicted for reporting on the death of Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police after being detained for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.
The two were further accused of collaborating with the United States but were acquitted of these charges in October, when an Iranian court reduced their sentences. Hamedi’s sentence was lowered to seven years, while Mohammadi was reduced to six years in prison.
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