Iranian journalist begins her six-year jail term

13:29 - 7 March 2012
KURDPA - Shirin Khosravani, an Iranian journalist, has begun serving her six-year jail term for charges of \"assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the regime.\"

Saham News reports that her preliminary sentence of six years in jail was confirmed by the appellate court, and now she must serve it.

Azam Afsharian, Khosravaini\'s mother, had told Radio Farda that her daughter was being pressured to sign a pardon letter in order to escape imprisonment, which she refused to do.

Afsharian also reported that her daughter knew that she could be called out to serve her sentence but her morale was high.

Nazanin Khosravani was arrested at her home in November of 2010 and, after three months in jail, was released on bail. She has done work for several reformist newspapers and news outlets.

After the controversial 2009 presidential elections, which led to widespread protests over allegations of vote fraud, reporters and journalists became one of the chief targets of a government crackdown, so that Reporters Without Borders now refers to Iran as the world\'s \"biggest jail for journalists.\"