Tehran’s Criminal Court 2 sentenced journalist Marzieh Mahmoudi to a fine of 40 million tomans. The case was filed against her for reporting on the shortage of cooking oil in Iran’s market.
In a post on her X account, Marzieh Mahmoudi wrote: “For a tweet about the possibility of war and the oil shortage, I went to court three times and was finally fined 40 million tomans today. The judge believed I deserved an award for predicting war, and it seems my ‘award’ was not getting a prison sentence. I will definitely appeal.”
Branch 1060 of Tehran’s Criminal Court 2 convicted Mahmoudi on charges of “spreading false information,” despite numerous images and videos confirming the oil shortage in Iran’s market at the time of her reporting.
Marzieh Mahmoudi, an economic journalist and Tehran resident, has previously faced judicial and security pressures. According to a report by the Defending Free Flow of Information (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 19 female journalists faced prison sentences, legal cases, or security measures, with at least six journalists detained. In total, Iranian journalists were sentenced to 22 years and three months in prison and over 50 million tomans in fines.