Elaheh Mohammadi

Elaheh Mohammadi is an Iranian journalist specializing in social and women's issues who works at the Ham-Mihan newspaper. She has previously collaborated with media outlets such as Shahrvand, Khabar Online, and Etemad Online. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In August 2022, one of Mohammadi's reports published in the Shargh newspaper titled "Murder with the Code Name of Honor" was recognized as one of the top reports of the year by the Tehran Province Journalists Association. In 2022, after preparing a report on the death of Mahsa Amini, she was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence of the Iranian government.

On December 23, 2021, Mohammadi wrote on her personal Twitter page: "In April 2020, I wrote a report about the situation in Qarchak Prison during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak for Khabar Online news agency. After its publication, the IRGC Intelligence Organization filed a complaint against me, and a case was opened with charges of propaganda against the regime and spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion. After several interrogation sessions by the IRGC regarding the report on the downing of the Ukrainian airplane, the events of November 2019, activities in the Harassment Watch group, and addressing women's issues, I was formally charged and a bail of 150 million tomans was issued." Mohammadi was banned from writing in the media she worked for from April 2020 to April 2021.

After the killing of Mahsa Amini, Mohammadi traveled to Saqqez to report on Amini's funeral. After preparing the report and upon her return, she was summoned by phone and subsequently arrested. During her trip to Saqqez, she published a report titled "A Nation in Grief," which was printed in the Ham-Mihan newspaper and included interviews with several former parliament members. On September 20, 2022, Mohammadi also published another report titled "Anxiety of Guidance," engaging in similar activities.

After her arrest, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the director of Ham-Mihan, stated that Mohammadi had gone to Saqqez on behalf of the newspaper to cover Amini's funeral and bore no personal responsibility. On October 15, 2022, Mohammadi's husband wrote on his Twitter account that she had been in solitary confinement for 17 days and had not had more than 10 minutes of contact with her, with no information on her charges.

On October 29, 2022, in a joint statement by the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the abbreviated names of two journalists, Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi, were mentioned, describing them as agents of Western intelligence services who had attended courses on subversion and hybrid warfare in some countries. This news sparked protests from many Twitter users. Over 500 media activists signed a statement in support of Hamedi and Mohammadi.

The first trial session of Elaheh Mohammadi after nine months of imprisonment was held on May 29, 2023, behind closed doors but in the presence of her chosen lawyers at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Abolqasem Salavati. Her chosen lawyer was able to meet her in person for the first time on Sunday, May 28. Previously, Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer for Mahsa Amini's family, had described the trials of Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi as some of the strangest trials in Iran since the trials conducted by Sadegh Khalkhali. This court session lasted two hours, and Mohammadi was returned to Evin Prison.