Iran imprisons journalist Reza Valizadeh on charges of “hostile” cooperation with the United States | news

The Iranian-American journalist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to his lawyer.

A court in Iran has sentenced Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh to 10 years in prison after convicting him of “cooperating with the hostile American government,” according to his lawyer.

Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, Valizadeh’s lawyer, told the Associated Press news agency that the Revolutionary Court in Tehran issued the initial ruling a week ago and could be appealed within 20 days.

Agassi added that he had not been able to meet Valizadeh since the ruling.

Agassi said on the .

Reza Valizadeh is a former journalist for the US government-funded Voice of America Persian-language service, and also worked for Radio Farda, an outlet of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that is overseen by the US Agency for Global Media.

In August, Valizadeh apparently posted two messages on social media, indicating that he had returned to Iran even though the Iranian government views Radio Farda as a hostile outlet.

Part of the letter read: “I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, I had incomplete negotiations with the Intelligence Directorate (Revolutionary Guard).”

“In the end, I returned to my country after 13 years without any security guarantee, even if it was verbal.”

Agassi said he was released within the first six months of his arrival and then arrested.

Previous arrests

News of Valizadeh’s sentencing comes after Iranian authorities on Friday arrested prominent activist Reza Khandan, the husband of award-winning human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, their daughter and their lawyer.

Sotoudeh, a lawyer who has spent most of the past decade in and out of prison, is serving countless sentences in cases linked to her activism.

Earlier in November, Kianoush Sanjari, a former journalist with Voice of America’s Persian service, jumped to his death from a building in the Iranian capital in protest against the country’s supreme leader and a continuing crackdown on dissent in the country.

Iranian authorities said that Sinjari (42 years old) had previously demanded the release of four prisoners detained in the country and threatened to kill himself if they were not released.

In 2007, Parnaz Azima, a former broadcaster on Radio Farda, returned briefly to Iran to visit her sick mother. Her passport was confiscated at the airport. The authorities prevented her from leaving the country and repeatedly summoned her for questioning by security forces.

Finally, she was released on bail and allowed to leave the country after eight months.