Two Iranian photographers sentenced to 15 and 9 years in prison, according to NGOs

Iranian photographers Yalda Moiaery and Shaghayegh Afshar have received significant prison sentences, according to human rights organizations. Moiaery was sentenced to 15 years by the Sala 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, a verdict she confirmed on social media platform X, stating, "They have already convicted me! 15 years in prison! As for the rest, it's better not to talk about it!"

Moiaery was arrested in September 2022 during protests in Tehran. Iran's Judiciary Press Center accused her at the time of "acts against national security and supporting riots." This is not the first recognition of her work under duress; she previously received the 2023 Wallis Annenberg Award for Justice for Women Journalists and the 2018 Courage in Journalism Award for her photography of Iranian protests in 2018.

Meanwhile, photographer and student Shaghayegh Afshar was sentenced to nine years in prison. Her sentence includes five years for alleged "gathering and conspiracy against national security," three years for "cooperation with hostile states," and one year for "propaganda against the state." Afshar Najafi was arrested at her home in February and initially held at an Intelligence Department detention center before being transferred to Choubindar prison in Qazvin.

Afshar was later released on bail pending the conclusion of her trial. The Revolutionary Court in Qazvin handed down her nine-year sentence, which also includes a two-year travel ban, six months of unpaid community service, and permanent disqualification from any public or governmental position, according to the Hengaw organization.