Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, has sentenced a Kurdish journalist named Saman Ghazali to eight months in prison and a one-year ban from journalism on charges of “propaganda against the state”.
Ghazali was arrested after being summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in Mahabad on 25 September.
A few days later, he was transferred to the detention centre of the security institution in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.
During the two months of his detention, he was interrogated for reporting and conducting interviews regarding the recent public protests and strikes.
The journalist once went on a hunger strike to protest against his situation.
On 26 November, he was temporarily released from Orumiyeh Central Prison on a bail of one billion Iranian Tomans – nearly 25,000 USD.
Ghazali was previously detained on 16 September 2020 for three months due to his political and journalistic activities.
Later, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolution Court of Mahabad sentenced him to two years of imprisonment.
The court charged the journalist with “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security” through his alleged “collaboration” with one of the Kurdish opposition parties.
On 30 June 2021, Ghazali was released under judiciary amnesty after serving nine months of his prison sentence.
