Two female Iran journalists face trial for covering hijab death row

A Revolutionary Court in Iran on Tuesday began the trial of a female journalist behind closed doors on charges linked to her coverage of a Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in custody last year sparked months of unrest, her husband said on Twitter.

Mahsa Amini's death while held by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code unleashed a wave of mass anti-government protests for months, posing one of the boldest challenges to the country's clerical leaders in decades.

A photo taken by Niloofar Hamedi for the pro-reform Sharq daily showing Amini's parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma was the first sign to the world that all was not well with 22-year-old Amini. Tuesday's trial session "ended in less than two hours while her lawyers did not get a chance to defend her and her family was not allowed to attend," her husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, said on Twitter. "She denied all the charges against her and emphasized that she had performed her duty as a journalist."

Hamedi, along with another female journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, who went on trial on Monday, face several charges including "colluding with hostile powers" for their coverage of Amini's death. Iran's intelligence in October accused Mohammadi and Hamedi, imprisoned for over eight months, of being CIA foreign agents. Reuters

Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes.