Iranian Journalist Maroofian Handed One-Year Prison Term

The judicial system of the Islamic Republic has sentenced journalist Nazila Maroofian to one year in prison for allegedly disseminating "propaganda against the system" and "collusion and gathering," amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent and the media in the country.

In his September 3 ruling, Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court also imposed a fine of 15 million tomans ($300) on the imprisoned journalist.

Maroofian, 23, is from the predominantly Kurdish western city of Saqqez but resides in Tehran.

She was sent behind bars on August 30, marking the fourth time in the past year she had been arrested.

Neighbors of Maroofian told IranWire that she was detained at her home, with security forces using force during her arrest.

Due to injuries sustained from the beatings to which he had been subjected, Maroofian was briefly transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison to a hospital on August 31, according to reports.

On September 2, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that Maroofian started a hunger strike to protest her mistreatment during detention and to demand her unconditional release.

Maroofian was initially arrested in November 2022, following the publication of an interview with Amjad Amini, the father of the 22-year-old woman whose death in police custody in September sparked months of nationwide protests.

Dozens of other journalists have been arrested since the eruption of the widespread protests.