Iranian Journalist Shokrani Faces New Legal Case

Maryam Shokrani, the economic editor of Iran’s Shargh newspaper, has announced that a new legal case was filed against her.

Shokrani said on Instagram on November 22 that the case was referred to Branch 1058 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office "without investigation.”

The journalist also said she hadn’t been given a chance to present her defense.

This is the second case filed against Shokrani in recent weeks. 

Shokrani announced earlier she had been summoned to Branch 16 of the Tehran Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office, adding that she was unaware of the complaint's subject matter.

The cases were opened against Shokrani amid a wider crackdown on journalists who have reported on the death of Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old girl who was assaulted at a Tehran metro station on October 1 for not wearing a headscarf. 

Armita died after being in a coma for 28 days.

Several other journalists have also been summoned or arrested for their coverage of her death. 

They include Sara Masoumi, Milad Alavi, and Omid Tosheh. Negar Ostad Agha, a member of Etimad Online’s editorial team, has been arrested for attending Geravand's funeral.