Iranian Journalist Marzieh Has Been Sentenced Two Years Prison and 50 Lashes

Iranian journalist Marzieh Rasouli said on Monday that she has been sentenced to two years sentence in Tehran's notorious Evin prison and 50 lashes for publishing anti-regime propaganda. Rasouli is respected for her work as an arts and culture reporter for leading media outlets, including the Shargh and Etamaad dailies was detained in January 2012 as part of a crackdown. She was later freed on bail, but her incarceration - shortly before a parliamentary election- drew international condemnation led by the United States and France. In a statement posted on Twitter Rasouli said she has been charged "with the propaganda against the establishment and disruption of public order through participation in gathering." The first charge has been commonly used by conservative-dominated judiciary to convict activists and journalists since the disputed 2009 election that triggered widespread anti-regime protests. Another reformist journalist Saba Azarpyek, has been in custody for more than a month since being detained, without being able to contact her family, her lawyer says. Conservative newspapers as well as reformists have faced temporary bans from the judiciary since the Rohauni took office in August 2013, while three pro-reforms titles have been permanently shut down.