The Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Khorramabad sentenced Ghazaleh Zare to a total of three years in prison.
Deutsche Welle reported on January 22, 2024, that Ghazaleh Zare was sentenced to one year in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the regime” and to two years for the charges of “forming groups and associations with the aim of undermining the security of the country” and “collaborating with individuals from anti-revolutionary networks abroad.” According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, two years of the prison sentence will be enforceable.
Farhad Payar, a journalist and Ghazaleh Zare’s uncle, said in an interview with this media that his niece’s journalistic activities at the Persian section of Deutsche Welle and the Iran Journal were the main reasons for her arrest and sentencing in Iran.
According to Payar, Ghazaleh Zare was arrested on July 30, 2023, in Khorramabad, just a few days before she intended to travel to Germany to visit him. He further stated, “Two weeks after Ghazaleh’s arrest, I received a call from her mobile phone. Initially, they pretended as if Ghazaleh herself was calling me, but her phone was with the interrogators, and it was these interrogators who intended to directly threaten me.” During this call, Payar inquired about his niece’s place of detention and charges against her, to which the interrogators responded: “Cooperating with you [Iran Journal] and Deutsche Welle Persian, etc.”
Deutsche Welle is a media outlet affiliated with the German government, which has sections in various languages, including Persian. Iran Journal is an online publication in German that publishes news and reports about Iran.
In recent years, the security and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly pressured and silenced journalists and opposition political activists by arresting and issuing prison sentences for the families of these citizens within the country.