Zainab Rahimi, an environmental journalist, has been fined by Iran’s judiciary for charges of ‘advertising against the system and spreading lies’ following her reporting on the death of Armita Geravand.
Following Maryam Shokrani, Zainab Rahimi becomes the second journalist fined in connection with an article about the tragic demise of Armita Geravand. Geravand, a teenager, lost her life in the Tehran subway after an incident involving a regime’s hijab-observer officer.
Detailing her case and the subsequent verdict, Rahimi shared on social media platform X that she was summoned by the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office last fall. She was accused of ‘propaganda against the system and spreading lies’ due to a tweet discussing Armita Geravand. The accusation of ‘propaganda against the system’ was dropped during the investigation, and the charge was altered to ‘publishing vulgar information’ during the proceedings.
In the court’s ruling on March 4, Rahimi was acquitted of the charge of ‘publishing vulgar data.’ However, she was fined for ‘publishing lies’ concerning her article about Armita Geravand’s death.
Expressing her intent to appeal, Rahimi vowed to contest the decision firmly. In November of the previous year, cases were initiated against both Zainab Rahimi and Maryam Shokrani at Branch 9 of the regime’s Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office.
Moreover, Rahimi was summoned to the Media and IT Prosecutor’s Office in March 2022 following a complaint from the Environmental Protection Organization.
Rahimi, formerly employed as an environmental reporter with the ISNA news agency, was dismissed in 2020 for posting content on Twitter.
These false accusations by the regime’s judicial authorities aim to tarnish the journalists’ records, enabling their potential arrest in future cases. Such rulings not only impact the journalists’ freedom but also jeopardize their future legal standing, rendering them susceptible to imprisonment without recourse to suspended sentences.
