Iranian Journalists Temporarily Released Face New Legal Case for Flouting Hijab 

People walk at the old bazaar in the city of Shahr-e Ray, south of Tehran, on January 8, 2024. (AFP)
People walk at the old bazaar in the city of Shahr-e Ray, south of Tehran, on January 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Iranian Journalists Temporarily Released Face New Legal Case for Flouting Hijab 

People walk at the old bazaar in the city of Shahr-e Ray, south of Tehran, on January 8, 2024. (AFP)
People walk at the old bazaar in the city of Shahr-e Ray, south of Tehran, on January 8, 2024. (AFP)

Iran's judiciary has opened a new case against two jailed female journalists for appearing without a hijab upon their temporary release from prison, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Monday.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, respectively sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison for their coverage of the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini in 2022, were released on Sunday temporarily after paying bail.

"After footage of the defendants without hijab was released online, a new case has been filed against them," Mizan said referring to a video widely shared on social media showing the two women celebrating their release with family outdoors.

The death of Amini after she was held by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code, triggered months of nationwide anti-government protests, in one of the boldest challenges to the country's clerical leaders in decades.



Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
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Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)

A Chinese naval formation led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed through waters northeast of Taiwan on Wednesday and continued towards the southeast of Japan's Yonaguni Island, Taipei's government said.

"During this period, the armed forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

The voyage came after the Chinese military tailed a US aircraft that flew through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Beijing's army said, vowing to "resolutely defend national sovereignty".

"On September 17, a US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait," Li Xi, a senior captain and spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said in a statement.

"Theater troops are on constant high alert to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability."

Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and claims jurisdiction over the waterway that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have sailed through the Taiwan Strait several times in recent years as Beijing intensified military and political pressure on the island.

Taiwan's military has reported near daily sightings of Chinese warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island.

On Wednesday, the defense ministry said nine Chinese military aircraft, 13 naval vessels and one official ship were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday).

It said in a second statement that a further 15 Chinese warplanes were detected on Wednesday, of which 12 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait "in conducting air-sea joint training" with Chinese naval vessels.

"The People's Liberation Army also fired multiple launched rockets in the inland Gansu area," it added.