Niloofar Hamedi

Niloofar Hamedi
Persian: نیلوفر حامدی
Born (1992-10-22) 22 October 1992 (age 32)
NationalityIranian
OccupationSports journalism
Known forReporting Mahsa Amini's death
AwardsUNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award, Leuchtturm Prize, John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award

Niloofar Hamedi (Persian: نیلوفر حامدی; born 22 October 1992) is an Iranian journalist who works for the reformist daily newspaper Shargh.[1] She was arrested during the Mahsa Amini protests for breaking the news about Mahsa Amini and reporting on her treatment by Iran's Morality Police.[2][3] Hamedi is also known for her work as one of the first journalists to have interviewed the family and lawyer for imprisoned writer Sepideh Rashnu, and she published an investigative report on her case.[4][5] Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

Report on Mahsa Amini and arrest

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On 16 September 2022, Hamedi gained access to Kasra Hospital in Tehran, where 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was being treated following her detention by the morality police for allegedly wearing her compulsory hijab inappropriately. Later that day, and around the time of Amini's death, Hamedi tweeted a photo of Amini's parents hugging and crying in the hospital. That picture quickly spread along with Hamedi's reporting on Amini's death, and eventually spiraled into nationwide protests.[6]

As a result of her news coverage, Hamedi was arrested by security forces on 21 September,[7] following a wave of arrests that targeted journalists and students.[8] Hamedi's Twitter account, where she had originally posted the influential photo of Amini's parents, was suspended without explanation.[9] Her charges include colluding with the intention of acting against national security and propaganda against the state.[10]

According to Hamedi's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, she has been interrogated and is being held in solitary confinement at Tehran's Evin Prison.[6][9] On 4 November 2022, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and Intelligence ministry issued a joint statement, filled with unsubstantiated claims, accusing Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, another female journalist who had reported on Amini's funeral, of being foreign agents engaged in “multi-dimensional wars” organized by “Western and Zionist intelligence agencies… to carry out serious and uninterrupted planning with the aim of influencing different social layers, especially in areas related to women”. [11][12][13][14][15] The statement incorrectly claimed that Niloofar Hamedi, 30, had published a photo of Mahsa Amini in a hospital bed that went viral on social media. Yet Hamedi, who works for the Shargh newspaper in Tehran, never tweeted a photo of Amini in a hospital bed; she had only tweeted a photo of Mahsa’s parents (father and grandmother according to some reports[16]) embracing in the hospital after her death.[15]

Recognition

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Awards

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Other recognitions

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  • Hamedi's photo of Mahsa Amini's father and grandmother embracing each other right after her death was selected the Photo of Year (for year 1401) by a group of renowned Iranian Afghan photojournalists, March 2023[23][16]
  • In April 2023, Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were included in Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People in the World.[24]

See also

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Sources

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  1. ^ "She was arrested for reporting Mahsa Amini's death. Then, Iran prison fire…". Hindustan Times. 17 October 2022. ISSN 0972-0243. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  2. ^ "نیلوفر حامدی خبرنگار روزنامه شرق بازداشت شد" [Niloofar Hamedi Shargh daily journalist was arrested] (in Persian). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  3. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz (24 September 2022). "Iran Protests Surge to Dozens of Cities". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  4. ^ Hamedi, Niloofar. "همه ‌ منتظر سپیده‌ هستیم/ وکیل رشنو: درخواست ما فک قرار بازداشت موقت و تعیین وثیقه است". Shargh Daily.
  5. ^ ""Niloufar Hamedi Archives"". انصاف نیوز (in Persian). Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Iranian woman journalist, who broke news of Mahsa Amini's death, is in jail now". Maktoob Media. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  7. ^ فردا, رادیو (22 October 2022). "نیلوفر حامدی، روزنامه‌نگارِ پیگیر وضعیت مهسا امینی، "بازداشت شد"" [Niloofar Hamedi journalist following up on Mahsa Amini's situation "was arrested"]. رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  8. ^ Bronte, Trinidad Deiros (7 October 2022). "The faces of repression in Iran". El País English Edition. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Mahsa Amini: An Iranian journalist broke the news of the death. Now she's in jail". 29 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  10. ^ Farda, RFE/RL's Radio. "Iran Charges Two Female Journalists Who Broke Story About Amini's Death". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  11. ^ Engelbrecht, Cora (4 November 2022). "As Protests Rage, Iran Marks Anniversary of U.S. Embassy Takeover". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  12. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz (16 November 2022). "Iran Cracks Down as Protests Show No Sign of Easing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  13. ^ Malekian, Somayeh (5 November 2022). "Weary of crackdown, Iran's regime takes on citizen journalists". ABC News. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Iran arrests dissident rapper, calls Amini story reporters CIA spies". The Jerusalem Post, JPost.com. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Witch Hunt in Iran: Grave Concerns for Journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi". Center for Human Rights in Iran. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  16. ^ a b "گروهی از عکاسان ایرانی عکسی مربوط به مهسا امینی را به عنوان «عکس سال ۱۴۰۱» برگزیدند". صدای آمریکا (in Persian). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  17. ^ Expression, Canadian Journalists for Free. "Recipients of the CJFE Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award and Arnold Amber Award for Investigative Journalism Announced". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Canadian NGO Presents Award To Two Jailed Female Iranian Journalists". Iran International. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Iranian journalists Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi win Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism at Harvard". Nieman Foundation. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Iranian Journalists Receive Prestigious US Award While In Jail For Revolution Coverage". Iran International. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Three imprisoned Iranian women journalists awarded 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize". UNESCO. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  22. ^ Heslop, Andrew (28 June 2023). "Golden Pen of Freedom Awarded to Journalists Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, Jailed in Iran". WAN-IFRA. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  23. ^ "عکس نیلوفر حامدی از پدر و مادربزرگ مهسا امینی به عنوان عکس سال انتخاب شد". ار.اف.ای - RFI (in Persian). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  24. ^ Rezaian, Jason (13 April 2023). "Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi Are on the 2023 Time 100 List". Time. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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