LONDON, U.K.: Acclaimed Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, who has spent much of her career documenting protests, political dissent and the lives of women in Iran, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Iran's National Journalist Day, over the weekend.

Her work has repeatedly brought her into trouble with the authorities.

The sentence was issued under a law introduced after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025. Iranian authorities say the legislation is designed to fight espionage and cooperation with countries considered hostile to Iran.

When Moaiery appeared at Tehran's Revolutionary Court, she said she was not given official documents explaining the case against her. Instead, a friend who was with her copied the details from a charge sheet by hand. Human rights groups say such practices highlight the lack of openness and transparency in Iran's judicial system.

The handwritten notes listed several accusations against Moaiery. These included giving interviews to media organizations that Iranian authorities consider hostile and providing photographs to organizations connected to the United States and Israel. Reuters said it could not independently confirm the contents of the charge sheet.

In a statement given to Reuters, Moaiery said the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, raided her home during anti-government protests in January. Officers took her phone, laptop and other electronic devices, she said.

She added that IRGC officers returned after the United States carried out air strikes on Iran this year and again seized her belongings.

"On this occasion, they took everything, including even the cameras I had owned since childhood," she said.

Moaiery said she was questioned several times before her case was sent to Branch 33 of the Security Prosecutor's Office. It was later transferred to the Revolutionary Court.

A spokesman for Iran's United Nations Mission in New York did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the case.

Roya Boroumand, executive director of the U.S.-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, said the decision not to provide Moaiery with formal case documents was an attempt by the Islamic Republic to silence defendants. She also accused the judiciary of acting "blatantly" as an arm of the state.

The handwritten document given by Moaiery to Reuters included accusations such as "interviewing with networks hostile to the system". It also accused her of sending photographs to organizations in the United States and Israel that the authorities described as hostile.

Moaiery said she had shared photographs showing damage caused by air strikes in Iran with CNN. She also took part in a CNN interview about her reporting in March 2026.

Under the new 2025 espionage law, Moaiery has 10 days to appeal the sentence. That is half the period that defendants were previously given to challenge such convictions under earlier legislation.

The photojournalist has been imprisoned before for her work.

She previously spent two years in Gharchak Prison, a facility she had herself photographed during her career.

In 2022, Moaiery was jailed for three months and later sentenced to eight years in prison for covering the nationwide "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. The demonstrations began after the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody.

An amnesty later reduced that sentence. However, Moaiery said the case continued to leave her vulnerable to questioning and pressure from the authorities.