Iran Frees Journalists Whose Reports Set Off Nationwide Revolt

Iran has released two journalists jailed for their coverage of a young woman whose death sparked a nationwide protest movement that challenged Iran’s system of authoritarian clerical rule, state media reported on Sunday, although prosecutors filed a new complaint against them on Monday.

The journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, helped break the story of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police in September 2022 after being arrested on charges of violating Iran’s religiously conservative dress code. Ms. Hamedi, 31, reported for the Iranian daily newspaper Shargh from the hospital where the young woman lay dying and shared a photo of her grieving relatives that went viral on social media. She was arrested days after Ms. Amini’s death, and Ms. Mohammadi — who had covered her funeral for the newspaper Hammihan — was arrested a week after that, as protests swept Iran.

Both women were charged with conspiring with foreign intelligence agencies to undermine national security, as well as with spreading propaganda, and spent months in detention. After closed-door trials, they were sentenced in October — Ms. Hamedi to a total of 13 years in prison and Ms. Mohammadi to a total of 12 years.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that the two women had been released on bail while they appeal their sentences. Video posted on the Instagram account of Ms. Mohammadi’s sister showed them leaving Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison and walking hand in hand toward their husbands, colleagues and friends who were running uphill to greet them. As they all hugged, the crowd chanted, “Freedom, freedom, freedom.”