An Iranian court has sentenced Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of collaborating with a hostile government, his lawyer said on Saturday.
Reza Valizadeh is a former journalist for the US government-funded Persian language service of Voice of America and has worked for Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, overseen by the US Agency for Global Media. Is performed.
Valizadeh’s lawyer Mohammad Hossein Agassi told The Associated Press that the Tehran Revolutionary Court issued a first-instance verdict for his client on charges of “collaborating with a hostile U.S. government.”
Aghasi said the decision could be appealed within 20 days because it was delivered to him a week ago. He said he had not been able to meet Valizadeh since the verdict.
In August, Valizadeh posted two messages apparently explaining that he had returned to Iran despite Radio Farda being viewed as a hostile outlet by Iran’s theocracy.
“I reached Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before this, my conversation remained incomplete.” [Revolutionary Guard’s] Intelligence Department,” the message read in part. “I finally came back to my country after 13 years without any security guarantees, even verbally.”
Aghasi said that he was free during the first six months after his arrival and then he was arrested.
Earlier in November, Kianoush Sanjari, a former journalist for VOA’s Persian service, committed suicide by jumping from a building in the Iranian capital in protest against the country’s supreme leader and the ongoing crackdown on dissent in the Islamic Republic.
Iranian officials said Sanjari, 42, had previously demanded the release of four prisoners held in the country and threatened to kill himself if they were not released.
In 2007, former Radio Farda broadcaster, Parnaz Azima, returned to Iran for a short time to visit her ailing mother. His passport was confiscated at the airport. Authorities banned him from leaving the country and he was repeatedly called in for questioning by security forces. Ultimately, he was released on bail and allowed to leave the country after eight months.
Iran has faced years of unrest amid broader tensions with the West, most recently with nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini. Jobs also remain scarce, and the country’s rial currency has continued to depreciate against the US dollar for years, putting further pressure on the lives of Iranians.