Iran frees journalists whose reports sparked a nationwide uprising

Iran has released two journalists jailed for their reporting on a young woman whose death sparked a nationwide protest movement challenging Iran's system of authoritarian administrative rule, state media reported on Sunday, although prosecutors filed a new complaint against them on Monday .

The journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, helped tell the story of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of Iran's moral police in September 2022 after being arrested on charges of violating Iran's religiously conservative dress code. Ms Hamedi, 31, reported for Iranian daily Shargh from the hospital where the young woman lay dying and shared a photo of her grieving relatives that went viral on social media. She was arrested days after Ms. Amini's death, and Ms. Mohammadi – who had covered her funeral for the Hammihan newspaper – was arrested a week afterward, as protests swept across Iran.

Both women were accused of conspiring with foreign intelligence services to undermine national security, as well as spreading propaganda, and spent months in detention. After trials behind closed doors, they were convicted in October – Ms Hamedi to a total of 13 years in prison and Ms Mohammadi to a total of 12 years.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that the two women had been released on bail while they appealed their sentences. A video on Ms Mohammadi's sister's Instagram account showed them leaving Tehran's infamous Evin prison and walking hand in hand to their husbands, colleagues and friends who ran uphill to greet them. As they all hugged each other, the crowd sang, “Freedom, freedom, freedom.”

Friends also posted photos on social media of journalists walking down the street with their hands raised in the victory sign – with both women's hair falling loose in clear violation of Iran's religiously conservative dress code.

The official response came quickly: On Monday, Mizan, a news agency overseen by Iran's judiciary, reported that prosecutors had filed a new complaint against the journalists accusing them of violating the country's hijab law. That legislation requires women to cover their hair and wear long, loose clothing that hides the shape of their bodies — and initially led to Ms. Amini's arrest.

The vice squad who arrested Ms. Amini took her to a center where women were re-educated in the law governing clothing, before she was hospitalized. The Iranian government has said that Ms. Amini died in custody due to underlying medical problems. Her family has said she had no health problems and that she died because police beat her. A photo of Mrs. Amini in a coma in the hospital, with blood dripping from her ear and the tubes in her mouth going viral. No independent investigation has taken place.

Ms Amini's death angered Iranians already furious with their government after decades of social and political repression, economic mismanagement and corruption, sparking months of protests. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Iran, including many women who tore off their headscarves and burned them in protest bonfires. The uprising – dubbed the “Mahsa Movement” in tribute to Ms Amini – turned into the most serious challenge to the legitimacy of Iran's ruling clerics since they took power in 1979.

The Iranian government took tough action and had violently suppressed the protests by early 2023. almost 20,000 people and murders over 500according to human rights organizations. At least seven arrested protesters were later executed, while others still faced the death penalty.

Yet many women continue to defy the hijab law, especially in larger cities, by keeping their hair uncovered and wearing Western clothing in public.

In response, the government has tried a variety of measures to enforce the law, including closing businesses that turn a blind eye to dress code violations by customers, and banning banks and government offices from serving such women.

In September, Iran's parliament passed a bill that increased penalties for women who refused to wear the hijab, imposing stiff fines and prison sentences on violators.

On Monday, photos of the two journalists with their hair uncovered drew approving reactions on social media from Iranians who saw them as symbols of resistance to the government. And Mrs. Amini's loved ones joined in celebrating their freedom.

“The news of your release after 400 days in prison and being away from your family made us all happy and soothed our taste buds,” Ms. Amini's father, Amjad Amini, wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “I sincerely congratulate you and your brave and patient family on this precious freedom.”