American journalist sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran

 Saturday 14 December 2024

Islamabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - 14th December, 2024 ) Reza Valizadeh is a former journalist for the Persian service of the Voice of America and has also been associated with Radio Farda, a radio station run by Radio Liberty.

Valizadeh’s lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Agassi, told The Associated Press that a court in Tehran has issued a preliminary ruling against his client on charges of “collaborating with a hostile US government.”

Agassi said he received the ruling a week ago and that it can be appealed within 20 days. He added that he has not had the opportunity to meet Valizadeh since the ruling was announced.

In August this year, Valizadeh posted two messages on social media indicating that he had returned to Iran.

It is significant that he was associated with Radio Farda, which the Iranian government considers a hostile organization.

A message from Valizadeh said: “I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, there were incomplete negotiations with the intelligence department of my Revolutionary Guard. Finally, I have returned to my country after 13 years, without any security guarantees, not even verbal.”

Aghassi said that Valizadeh was free during the first six months of his arrival in Iran, but then he was arrested.

It should be noted that in early November this year, Kianoush Sanjari, a former journalist for the Voice of America Persian Service, committed suicide by jumping from a building in Tehran. He presented this act as a protest against the country’s Supreme Leader and human rights violations in Iran.

According to Iranian authorities, Sanjari, 42, had demanded the release of four prisoners imprisoned in Iran and said that if they were not released, he would commit suicide.