Iranian journalist given six-year jail term

Iranian journalist Nazanin Khosravani was sentenced to six years in jail on 19 April after being convicted of impinging on national security and conducting propaganda against the regime. She was arrested in November 2009 and had her computer and personal belongings confiscated. She was later released on a $600,000 bail last March. Activists argue that her sentence is part of a general crackdown against journalists who were highly critical of the government in the 2009 presidential elections.

Iran: Journalist held in solitary confinement

The mother of journalist Nazanin Khosravani, who was arrested last week, says her daughter is being held in solitary confinement at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Azam Afsharian told Radio Free Europe that in a short phone call Khosravani had said she was being kept in Ward 209, which is run by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry. Prior to the phone call, Evin officials had denied her daughter was even a prisoner there. Khosravani, who is currently unemployed but previously worked for reformist newspapers, was arrested on November 3.