Iranian journalists Niloofar Hamedi (L) and Elaheh Mohammadi

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Iran Updates: “A Secret Code for Freedom” — European Award for Mahsa Amini

UPDATE, JAN 19:

Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has revealed the detention of another Swedish citizen in Iran.

The Ministry said on Thursday that the Swedish-Iranian dual national in his 60s was seized at the end of November. It said he was arrested “without a clear reason” and called for his release.

Swedish-Iranian dual national Ahmadreza Djalali, a specialist in disaster medicine, has been held since April 2016 and threatened with the death penalty. Johan Floderus, on the staff of the European Union’s diplomatic corps, was detained in April 2022 and is currently in trial.

Iran has been seeking leverage for the release of Hamid Nouri, a former prison official sentenced to life in prison in Sweden for crimes committed during the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. His appeal was rejected last month.

On Wednesday, the Swedish Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires and demanded the release of all Swedish prisoners “who are arbitrarily detained”.

UPDATE, JAN 16:

Journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi have been charged with violation of Iran’s law for compulsory hijab, a day following their release on bail from 15 1/2 months in detention.

The two women, imprisoned over their reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022, were met on Sunday by more than 100 family members and supporters outside Evin Prison in Tehran. They were filmed embracing people and flashing victory signs.

Mizan, the website of Iran’s judiciary, posted on Monday that Hamedi and Mohammadi — appealing sentences of 13 and 12 years, respectively — face new charges over the images.

UPDATE 1518 GMT:

Journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who reported the death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody on September 16, 2022, have been freed from prison.

The women were reportedly released on bail of $200,000 each and banned from leaving the country while their cases are heard on appeal.

Amini’s death, three days after she was detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” over “inappropriate attire”, sparked the nationwide “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests. Iranian authorities arrested almost 80 journalists during the demonstrations.

Hamedi reported that Amini was in a coma in hospital, just before the 22-year-old passed away. Mohammadi wrote about Amini’s funeral in her hometown of Saqqez in northwest Iran.

The journalists were soon seized and charged with “collaborating with the hostile American government”, “colluding against national security”, and “propaganda against the system”.

At one point, they faced the possibility of punishment by death. Last October, Hamedi was condemned to seven years in prison and Mohammadi to six.

See also Iran Updates: Long Prison Sentences For Journalists Who Broke News of Mahsa Amini’s Death

UPDATE, JAN 14:

Iranian forces have seized a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

The St. Nikolas, loaded with Iraqi crude oil destined for Turkey, was intercepted on Thursday. It has been located east of Iran’s Qeshm Island, according to the Monitoring service Tanker Trackers.

Iranian officials say the tanker was apprehended in retaliation for its confiscation last year by the US when the tanker, then known as the Suez Rajan, was loaded with Iranian oil. American officials said they were enforcing sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

The tanker was apprehended in the same area as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are attacking shipping.

UPDATES: US and UK Strike Yemen’s Houthis Over Attacks on Shipping

“This unlawful seizure of a commercial vessel is just the latest behavior by Iran or enabled by Iran aimed at disrupting international commerce,” US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. Calling for the release of the ship and crew of 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek national,, he said Washington will consult with regional partners about appropriate steps to hold Iran accountable.

UPDATE 0948 GMT:

Mehdi Yarrahi has been sentenced to 32 months in prison and 74 lashes for his song criticizing compulsory hijab.

A Revolutionary Court in Tehran condemned Yarrahi for “challenging the public mind and propaganda against the regime” with Your Head Scarf. Because the sentences on multiple charges run concurrently, he faces one year behind bars.

The singer was arrested in August 2023 and held until October, when he was released on bail.

Your Head Scarf, urging women to remove hijab scarves, was released ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini — who perished in custody after her detention by “morality police” — in September 2023.

UPDATE 0927 GMT:

Roya Heshmati, a 33-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, has posted an account of her 74 lashes for refusal to wear compulsory hijab.

Heshmati wrote on Facebook last week about the flogging over a social media post last April. Walking down a popular Tehran street with her back to camera, she was dressed in a red shirt and black skirt with her head uncovered.

https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-women-defiant-flogging-hijab-violation/32767635.html

Heshmati was detained for 11 days and later charged with propaganda against the establishment, violating public decency and order, and disseminating immoral social media content. Her initial sentence of 13 years was reduced upon appeal to a one-year suspended term, a three-year ban on leaving the country, a small fine, and the 74 lashes.

Last Wednesday, she was flogged as she firmly refused to wear a hijab, despite threats by the man punishing her to launch a new criminal case. Her hands were finally cuffed behind her back, preventing her from removing a headscarf as she was lashed in front of a judge in a “medieval torture chamber”.

Heshmati bore the pain by reciting the words of a song of the nationwide “Women, Life, Freedom” protests that began in September 2022, after Mahsa Amini — arrested and reportedly beaten for “inappropriate attire” — died in police custody.

“In the name of woman, in the name of life, the clothes of slavery are torn, our black night will dawn, and all the whips will be axed,” she chanted.

Heshmati said later that she “didn’t let them think I had experienced pain”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: German-Iranian national Nahad Taghavi has been furloughed from a Tehran prison after 39 months amid concerns about her deteriorating health.

However, Taghavi, who is in her 60s, is still confined under strict conditions comparable to house arrest.

Taghavi’s daughter Mariam Claren posted on social media that her mother has to wear an electronic ankle tag during the furlough and her movement will be restricted [to] 1,000 meters from her Tehran apartment.

Taghavi was detained in October 2020 and placed in prolonged solitary confinement. In August 2021, she was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in prison on charges of illegal propaganda activities and helping to lead a banned group.

Amnesty International condemned the “grossly unfair trial”.

For years, Iranian agencies, inlcuding the Revolutionary Guards and intelligence services, have seized foreign and dual nationals for political and economic leverage.

Some of the nationals, such as Anglo-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, spent months in house arrest after release from prison before they were finally allowed to leave Iran.

See also Anglo-Iranian Political Prisoners Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri Freed From Iran