Iran reduces sentence of jailed journalists after clearing them of collaborating with US

An Iranian court cleared two jailed journalists of collaborating with the United States, and reduced their sentences over reports about a woman's death that had helped trigger protests in 2022, Iran's worst domestic unrest for decades.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, sentenced a year ago to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively, had their terms reduced to five years, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told a news conference on Sunday.

"They were acquitted of the charge of collaboration with the U.S. in the appeal court," Jahangir said.

The two journalists were jailed for their coverage of the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini while she was being held by the morality police over accusations she breached Iran's Islamic dress code laws.

Her death sparked nationwide protests in late 2022 and 2023 that grew into Iran's biggest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution that brought Iran's clerical rulers to power.