NEWS CENTER - Journalist Vida Rabbani, who was arrested for following the "Jin, jiyan, azadî" protests, was released. 

 

Journalist Vida Rabbani, who was arrested in Iran for following the "Jin, jiyan, azadî" protests, was released. Her lawyer Parto Burhanpour announced on 9 April that she was released on parole after serving part of her sentence. 

 

WHO IS VIDA RABBANI?

 

Vida Rabbani is a journalist and social activist, particularly known for her work on human rights and social issues. She studied political science at Tehran University and she has been active on issues such as human rights violations in Iran, the mandatory headscarf and free elections, for which she has been arrested several times. She was first detained in November 2020 for her digital media posts on protests organised on the annivesary of the downing of a Ukrainian Airlines plane by the Revolutionary Guards. During this period, she was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison and went on hunger strike. She was released on bail in December 2020. 

 

In August 2022, Vida Rabbani was sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to five years in prison for "insulting religion", four years in prison fo "assembly and cooperation against national security" and one year in prison for "propaganda against the state", totalling ten years and four months. These sentences were based on her reporting on human rights violations and her digital media activities. 

 

In September 2022, she was arrested again for following the uprisings that broke out across the country after the murder of Jina Amini. In December 2022, she was sentenced to six years in prison for "assembly and collaboration against national security" and 15 months for "propaganda against the state".