Less than 24 hours after a 15-year prison sentence was handed down to photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic, praised journalists, characterizing them as individuals who operate without defenses.
Mohseni-Ejei stated: “Combatants on the front lines sometimes sit in fortified trenches, but a journalist goes into the heart of battle with their head held high and camera in hand to gather accurate and correct news.”
These remarks were delivered less than a day after Yalda Moaiery announced that she had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Security forces searched Moaiery’s home in February, confiscating her electronic devices and instructing her to report to the Shahid Moghaddas Court. Her phone line had previously been blocked on orders from the Ministry of Intelligence.
Moaiery was previously arrested on September 21, 2022, on Hejab Street in Tehran during protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. At that time, the Judiciary’s Media Center cited “anti-security charges and supporting riots” as the grounds for her arrest.
Yalda Moaiery is a prominent Iranian photojournalist who received the Courage in Journalism Award in 2023.
The Judiciary Chief’s praise and the heavy sentence issued to a photojournalist come at a time when press freedom conditions in Iran remain among the worst worldwide.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Iran ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, falling one spot to 177th in 2026. The organization reported 21 imprisoned journalists in Iran in October 2025, with current figures indicating that 16 journalists remain in detention.