Shirin Saeedi, an Iranian journalist incarcerated in Evin Prison, was released after serving over 21 months in detention. Her release was granted under a general amnesty and sentence reduction directive.
According to a report by the Defending Free Flow of Information (DeFFI), Saeedi was freed from Evin Prison on Sunday, October 12, 2025. The economic journalist was arrested on December 23, 2023, following a summons to court and subsequently transferred to prison.
Previously, Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, had sentenced Saeedi to five years in prison on charges of “collusion and assembly to act against national security” under Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code.
Despite Saeedi’s release, evidence suggests ongoing suppression of journalists and media in Iran. According to DeFFI, at least 95 Iranian journalists and media outlets faced judicial or security actions in the first six months of 2025. During this period, at least 46 new judicial cases were filed against journalists and media, a minimum of six journalists experienced temporary detention, and court rulings resulted in a cumulative 22 years and three months of imprisonment for Iranian journalists, along with fines exceeding 50 million tomans.