hamedi: Portrait of an Iranian journo as a fact-teller

That people of a country are separate from that country they hold a passport of is (made) evident in the looming figure of Niloofar Hamedi. This Iranian journalist has been in jail since September 22 – one among around 40 journalists imprisoned – for essentially disseminating correct but ‘bad’ news. Hamedi’s ‘crime’ was to post a photograph of the parents of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who died in police custody after she was arrested for not wearing the hijab ‘properly’. As far as ‘dangerous’ news goes, Hamedi posted a photo of Amini’s parents hugging in grief after their daughter had passed away. Hamedi even deleted her post after her editor in the daily, Shargh (East), warned her about how prickly the authorities could be.

Posting, airing or publishing unpleasant truths can be problematic, especially in closed societies like Iran. A picture showing a couple grieving the death of their daughter becomes, for the ‘aggrieved’ party, proof of ‘trouble in paradise’. Pointing out a glitch in the programme – especially when there is a glitch in the programme – becomes haraam, whether in 2022 Teheran or 1950s Moscow. So, the likes of ‘immature’ Hamedi will have to bear witness and, unfortunately, be a case study. The right thing for her, and her ilk, to do is follow the weather, and report it only when it’s nice and sunny.