On Tuesday, lawyer Mr. Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaee, told the state-run Tasnim news agency that four journalists have been handed a combined sentence of 27 years in jail.
Afarin Chitsaz received a sentence of ten years in prison for allegedly gathering and colluding to disrupt national security. She is also accused of having ties to foreign governments.
Another journalist, Ehsan Mazandarani, received a seven year sentence, this time for propaganda against the regime and gathering and colluding to disrupt national security, declared Mr. Alizadeh-Tabatabaee.
Davood Assadi and Ehsan (Saman) Safarzaie were both sentenced to five years in prison, again for gathering and colluding to disrupt national security.
Each of these four detained journalists had previously worked for state-run media in Iran. Their arrests on 2nd November 2015 followed raids on their homes by intelligence agents of the Revolutionary Guards. They were accused of spying for the governments of the United Kingdom and United States.
