Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                Iranian Court Sentences Four Journalists to Jail

   by VOA News

   Four Iranian journalists were sentenced to jail on charges of acting
   against national security, their lawyers said on Tuesday.

   The verdicts, ranging from five to 10 years, can be appealed, according
   to state-run media.

   Officials said a woman and four men taken into custody "were working in
   the country's media and social networks."

   Afarine Chitsaz, the woman journalist, received a five-year term.
   Davoud Assadi was given a 10-year sentence. Ehsan Mazandarani was
   ordered to seven years and Ehsan Safarzayi received five. The fate of
   the fifth journalist, Issa Saharkhiz, is unclear.

   Saharkhiz served three years in prison but was released in 2013. At the
   time, he was convicted for insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
   Khamenei and publishing anti-regime propaganda. In the months before
   his latest arrest, he allegedly criticized Khamenei and other senior
   figures, his lawyer said.

   The four sentenced journalists have worked for newspapers, including
   pro-reform Farhikhtegan daily.

   They were arrested in November as part of an ongoing crackdown by
   hard-liners -- a move criticized by moderate President Hassan Rouhani.
   Defense attorneys said their clients would appeal the sentences.

   Journalists in Iran are frequently the subject of judicial action.
   Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was arrested in July 2014.
   Rezaian holds dual Iranian-American citizenship. He was convicted last
   year of espionage and other charges but was freed in January as part of
   a prisoner swap between Iran and United states.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-court-sentences-four-journali
   sts-to-jail/3303235.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-court-sentences-four-journalists-to-jail/3303235.html