Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, on charges of activities in the interests of foreign states, over reporting and photographs she shared with international media.
Moaiery, who has spent roughly two decades documenting conflict, protest, and the lives of women in Iran, learned of the sentence on Iran's National Journalist Day. The charges reportedly relate to interviews she gave to media outlets and photographs she shared with organisations that Iranian authorities deemed hostile, including images of damage from airstrikes during the 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran.
The court also ordered the confiscation of her cameras and electronic devices, barred her from cultural and media activities and public office, and banned her from posting on social media. Moaiery has previously been imprisoned for her work, including two years served over her coverage of Iran's 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. The International Federation of Journalists condemned the sentence as baseless and called for her release, along with that of all journalists detained in the country.