Two female journalists, who were released on bail from prison in Iran on Sunday, having spent 17 months in jail for reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini*, have been charged under the country’s hijab laws after pictures were published of them celebrating their release with their heads uncovered.
*In 2022, Iran was gripped by protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin who had been arrested three days earlier for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Niloofar Hamedi, 31, and Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, were met by a crowd of more than 100 family members and supporters outside Evin prison in Tehran when they were released, and were shown flashing victory signs.
Hamedi and Mohammadi were released on a 10bn toman (£150,000) bail after appealing against their sentences of 13 and 12 years respectively, which were handed down to them by a revolutionary court in 2023 after they were found guilty of spreading propaganda; committing a crime against national security; and collaborating with a foreign state.
On Monday, the state-controlled Mizan news agency said that the two women have now been charged for not wearing a hijab after photos of them embracing and celebrating their release were widely circulated on social media.
Azam Jangravi, an Iranian information security analyst and human rights activist, said the release of Hamedi and Mohammadi could be connected to the forthcoming elections in Iran.
But now the hardliners of Islamic Republic that want compulsory hijab have complained about why they were released and the regime has added additional accusations to keep their followers happy.”
Activists and human rights organisations say the state is taking an increasingly harsh stance against those who continue to refuse to comply with Iran’s mandatory hijab law, which requires all women to cover their heads and hair when in public.
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