An Iranian reporter on Wednesday denied all charges against her as her trial opened in Tehran, fending off accusations that have led to the death penalty for previous regime critics.
Nilofar Hamedi was one of two journalists to first report on the case of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died after being detained by police over wearing her hijab “inappropriately”.
She later fell into a coma and died in hospital, with her family and activists saying she died as a result of being beaten.
Her death sparked nationwide street protests that continued until earlier this year.
“Today's court session was devoted to the reading of the indictment and the written and oral answers of the client to the questions of the judge,” Hamedi's lawyer, Parto Borhanpour, told the reformist Shargh newspaper, where she worked.
“There was no time for the oral defence of the lawyers,” she said, but added they were able to present the court with their objections and requests.
The defence objected to “Hamedi's lack of access to a lawyer during her detention” and called for the trial to be held “publicly”.
The session, held on Tuesday, “ended in less than two hours while her lawyers did not get a chance to defend her and her family members were not allowed to attend the court”, Hamedi's husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, said on Twitter.
“She denied all the charges against her and emphasised that she had performed her duty as a journalist based on the law,” he said.
Hamedi told the court “she had performed her work as a journalist within the framework of the law and did not take any action against Iran's security”, her husband said.
Her lawyers also objected to her continued detention despite “the completion of the preliminary investigation stage”.
She was detained on September 20 after reporting from the hospital where Ms Amini had spent three days before her death.
Since Ms Amini's death, hundreds have been killed – mostly protesters but also members of the security forces – and thousands arrested. Iran earlier this year said 15,000 people had been detained in the wake of the protests.
International protests
Activists around the world railed against the regime following the news of Ms Amini's death, many cutting off their hair in protest in the first few months.
People demonstrated in London, Rome, Madrid and other western cities in solidarity with Iranian protesters, holding pictures of Ms Amini.
Civil society groups and human rights activists condemned the repression of the anti-government protests and demanded the release of detained political prisoners and an immediate halt to executions.
The UN reported that, since the beginning of 2023, at least 203 Iranians sentenced to death have been hanged.
The protest movement has calmed over the past few months, although isolated acts of defiance are still reported.
Another female journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, who went on trial on Monday, faces several charges including “colluding with hostile powers” for their coverage of Ms Amini’s death.
Iran's intelligence ministry in October accused both journalists of being CIA foreign agents.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Specs
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RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
