Akbar Nasrollahi, the spokesperson for the political and press courts jury, announced that during Monday’s session on June 29, jury members found Sadegh Zibakalam guilty of “publishing false material and lies.” According to Nasrollahi, the hearing for the press and political cases was held in Branch 1 of Tehran Criminal Court 1, presided over by Judge Ebrahim Torabi-Golsafid.
The charges against Sadegh Zibakalam were brought based on an indictment by the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, in connection with his remarks on the live program “Pol-e Hafez” (Hafez Bridge), broadcast by the ANA news agency.
Nasrollahi stated that in his defense, Zibakalam reiterated his previous views regarding the US attack on the “Shajareh-ye Tayyebah” school in Minab, stating: “The core issue was that ANA news agency, much like a court, wanted to prove that I defend American crimes.”
According to Iranian media reports, the case of Mohammad-Mehdi Kheirjou, the CEO of ANA news agency, was also reviewed during the same session under the charge of publishing false material and lies. Additionally, the case of Mahdi Ahmadi-Asl, the managing director of Tabnak news agency, was reviewed following a complaint by the Ilia Steel Automotive Industries Company; jury members unanimously found him not guilty.
