TEHRAN, 12 August 2026 (Nosheen): Acclaimed Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has been sentenced to 15 years in prison over allegations related to her photographs, media interviews and reporting, according to details reviewed by Reuters.Moaiery, who has spent much of her career documenting protests, dissent and the lives of women in Iran, learned of the sentence on Iran’s National Journalist Day.The sentence was reportedly issued under legislation enacted following a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025. Iranian authorities say the law is aimed at combating espionage and cooperation with hostile states.Moaiery said that when she appeared before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, she was not provided with formal case documents. Instead, a friend accompanying her reportedly copied details from a charge sheet by hand.

According to the handwritten notes reviewed by Reuters, the accusations include giving interviews to media organisations considered hostile by Iranian authorities and providing photographs to organisations allegedly linked to the United States and Israel. Reuters said it could not independently verify the contents of the charge sheet.In a statement, Moaiery said the intelligence wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raided her home during anti-government protests in January and confiscated her phone, laptop and other electronic equipment.She said IRGC officers returned after US air strikes on Iran this year and seized her belongings again, including cameras she had owned since childhood.Moaiery said she was subjected to several interrogations before her case was referred to Branch 33 of the Security Prosecutor’s Office and subsequently to the Revolutionary Court.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment regarding her case.Roya Boroumand, executive director of the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, criticised the handling of the case, saying that withholding formal documents from defendants reflects a lack of transparency and contributes to efforts to silence them.