Two Female Photographers Sentenced to Combined 24 Years in Prison in Iran

Two female photographers, including a prominent photojournalist and an 18-year-old artist, have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison in Iran.

According to multiple reports, 18-year-old photographer Shaghayegh Afshar Najafi and prominent photojournalist Yalda Moaiery have been sentenced to jail for their work.

Teenage photographer Afshar Najafi, who lives in Qazvin, Iran, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to nine years in prison for sending photos and video footage to news outlet Iran International. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reports that Afshar Najafi was arrested at her home by Iranian security forces on February 14 and transferred one day later to Choubindar Prison in Qazvin on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security.” Under Iranian law, five years of Afshar Najafi’s prison sentence are enforceable.

Meanwhile, Yalda Moaiery, a renowned photojournalist who has covered social and political events in Iran, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Iranian authorities. According to Iran Wire, days after Moaiery saw her photographs from the January 8 and 9 protests published in the French newspaper Le Monde, Iranian security agents raided her home. Her camera and other electronic devices were confiscated in March and April of this year. On August 8, Moaiery was informed that she had been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on charges of activities “against national security,” and that she had been banned from media activities.

‘I Perhaps Have Nothing Left to Lose’

In January 2023, Iranian authorities sentenced Moayeri, a member of the Association of Photojournalists, to imprisonment and additional penalties, including performing unpaid public service as a street cleaner. Moayeri tells Iran Wire that many of her fellow Iranian photographers have stopped taking and publishing pictures due to the political situation. However, the photographer says she feels she has little left to lose and intends to continue documenting and telling the stories of Iranian people for as long as she can.

“My colleagues aren’t even taking photos anymore, let alone publishing them with or without a name,” Moayeri says. “It is very sad and, in my view, a kind of betrayal; but regardless, it’s a personal decision, and everyone must answer to their own conscience and history, not to me.”

She adds: “As for myself, I have reached a stage where I perhaps have nothing left to lose. I only have one life left, and if they want to take that too, what value does it have compared to these thousands of people, many of whom were the age of my child? Even if they kill me, what will happen? So, until the moment I am here, I will try to narrate.”

The news comes after acclaimed photographer Tahmineh Monzavi was sentenced to 74 lashes in Iran for taking a striking portrait of a singer in a black dress with her hair uncovered.

Image creditsHeader photo via X.