Iranian Economic Journalist Freed from Evin Prison

October 14, 2025 – Iran – 

Shirin Saeedi, a veteran economic journalist in Iran, was released from Evin Prison in mid-October 2025 after being held for more than 21 months. Her release came under a general amnesty and directive for sentence reduction, though the precise reasons and legal mechanism behind the decision have not been publicly clarified.

Saeedi was arrested in late December 2023. According to public reports, her detention followed a summons to the court, and she was then transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison after interrogation. In March 2024, she was convicted by Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and handed a five-year sentence on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to act against national security.” The court proceedings also focused on her involvement in journalism training courses abroad—particularly in South Africa—as part of its justification for the charges.

Over her multi-decade career, Saeedi has reported on economic topics for numerous Iranian outlets, including Hamshahri, Sarmayeh, Tehran Emrooz, Shahrvand, and has produced content for the Ministry of Agriculture as well as analyses for Iran’s stock market. After her incarceration, global press freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, called for her immediate release, characterizing her imprisonment as unjust and an infringement on journalistic rights.

While her freedom marks a relief for her supporters and colleagues, uncertainties remain. The timing and modality of her release—amid a general amnesty rather than legal overturning of her conviction—highlight how political and judicial mechanisms in Iran can enable sudden shifts in the status of detained journalists. Her case adds to the broader pattern of how Iranian authorities handle dissent and the press: long detentions under national security charges with occasional releases tied to broader amnesties rather than acquittals or transparent judicial review.

Reference –

Iranian Journalist Shirin Saeedi Released from Evin Prison

https://iranwire.com/en/women/145544-iranian-economic-journalist-released-from-evin-prison/