An Iranian journalist who was released on bail in mid-August was rearrested on Wednesday for failing to wear a headscarf in public, local media reported.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it has been compulsory for women to wear a headscarf, and they must conceal their hair in public places. However, more and more women have been appearing bareheaded in major cities over the past year.
Nazila Maroufian was arrested for not wearing a veil in a public place and “publishing her photos on social networks,” Tasnim news agency reported.
The journalist had already been arrested several times after interviewing Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini’s father, in October 2022. The death in custody in September last year of the young woman, arrested by the morality police for breaching the dress code imposed on women, sparked protests that lasted several months.
In the interview, Amjad Amini accused the authorities of lying about the circumstances of his daughter’s death by saying she had died as a result of a health problem. The family and activists claimed that she had received a blow to the head while in police custody. Tehran had denied any such allegations.
Nazila Maroufian, arrested last November and then released, had indicated in January that she had been sentenced to two years in prison suspended for five years for “propaganda against the system” and “spreading false news.”
On her release from prison on 13 August, following another arrest, she posted a photo of herself without a headscarf on social networks.
Based in Tehran, Nazila Maroufian is originally from Amini’s hometown of Saqez, in the western province of Kurdistan.
On Wednesday, local media also reported that Mahsa Amini’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, had gone on trial the day before on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” for talking to the media.
