Iranian-American Journalist Reza Valizadeh Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
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Editor - . December 14, 2024
- . Update: December 14, 2024 10:21 pm
An Iranian court has convicted Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian- American journalist of collaborating with the hostile U.S. government and has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Valizadeh was convicted by the Tehran Revolutionary Court, a verdict which can be appealed within 20 days of the verdict; Valizadeh used to work for Voice of America’s Farsi language service, Radio Farda.
He had gone back to Iran in March 2024 to do some business with the revolutionary guard’s intelligence division saying he had some more business to attend to. After he returned home the TV series was aired for free for the first six months with Valizadeh later being arrested. His lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, said that he has personally visited the prison but could not meet with Valizadeh since the announcement of the verdict. This sentencing has happened at a time when Iran is escalating its hostility with the west after protests across the country and the consistent political instability that has characterized Iran in the recent past.
It is a familiar story in Iran where journalists are persecuted and the case of another ex-VOA Farsi Service journalist Kianoosh Sanjari who committed suicide in November in a demonstration against the leadership. It is noteworthy that Valizadeh received a severe punishment, which proves the fact that the work of journalists and media representatives in Iran remains a problem.
