From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Iran releases journalist who was jailed after interviewing Amini father
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GooglePARIS, France — An Iranian journalist handed a two-year jail sentence after interviewing the father of the woman whose custody death sparked months of protests says today that she has been released from prison.
After her release from Tehran’s Evin prison, Nazila Maroufian defiantly posts a picture of herself on social media without a headscarf, flouting the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
“Don’t accept slavery, you deserve the best,” she writes on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. The picture shows her clutching flowers in one hand with her other hand raised in a victory sign.
Nazila Maroufian was released from prison just an hour ago. Her "crime"? Interviewing the father of Gina Mahsa Amini. Unveiled, she captured a photo and courageously posted on her Instagram, “Don't accept slavery, because you deserve the best.” #WomanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/Fj67VGXpuU
— Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) August 13, 2023
Maroufian, whose age is given by Persian media outside Iran as 23, in October published an interview on the Mostaghel Online news site with Amjad Amini.
He is the father of Mahsa Amini, whose death in custody last September after she allegedly violated the dress rules sparked months of protests.
In the interview, Amjad Amini accused authorities of lying about the circumstances of his daughter’s death.
Iranian authorities have indicated she died because of a health problem, but the family and activists have said she suffered a blow to the head while in custody.
Maroufian, a Tehran-based journalist but from Amini’s hometown of Saqez in Kurdistan province, was first arrested in November.
The Times of Israel Community.