Maryam Jalilvand, a heritage journalist, was accused of spreading false information.
Maryam Jalilvand, a journalist in the field of cultural heritage, was summoned to court due to a complaint by the head of the Restoration Association of Fars Province. She appeared in Branch 22 of District 2 Prosecutor’s Office in Shiraz on Thursday morning, and ultimately, the Shiraz Prosecutor’s Office announced that the case would continue to be investigated in Tehran without issuing any order for this journalist.
Maryam Jalilvand is a veteran and influential journalist in the field of cultural heritage. Her reports in recent months about the condition of Shiraz’s historical texture, the metro passage through Hafezieh, concrete pouring in Bishapur, and the pursuit of halting the Rahmat Mountain mine near Persepolis have turned into news trends and led to orders to stop activities in some projects.
After creating these news trends in the field of cultural heritage, she was summoned due to raising a question in an Instagram story about restoration projects in Fars Province. The reason for this summons was her focus on the subject of restoration contracts between the cultural heritage administration of Fars Province and this association.
Maryam Jalilvand, a journalist in the field of cultural heritage at ILNA news agency and a collaborator with Seda-ye Mirath, announced regarding her presence in Shiraz court that about a month ago, a complaint was filed by the head of the Restoration Association of Fars Province against her for raising this question on her Instagram page about how the Restoration Association of Fars Province managed to sign contracts with the cultural heritage administration of this province while the restorers of this province are unemployed.
She said this is the first time a journalist in the field of cultural heritage has been summoned to court by a heritage association just for raising a question on their Instagram page, which is a strange matter in itself. Maryam Jalilvand continued that after receiving the summons to appear in Shiraz court and consulting with her legal advisors in Tehran and Shiraz, she decided to travel to Shiraz to appear in court. However, the interesting point about the case was that when one of the trusted lawyers in Shiraz went to review the case, they were faced with an order denying access to the case. Ultimately, one of the lawyers in Shiraz was able to review the case and found it involved the charge of spreading false information.
The cultural heritage journalist of ILNA, in response to a question from Seda-ye Mirath about the result of appearing in Branch 22 of District 2 Prosecutor’s Office in Shiraz, announced that by attending the prosecutor’s office and explaining the complaint made by the head of the Restoration Association of Fars Province, the assistant prosecutor, without issuing any ruling, ordered that the investigation of the formed case continue in Tehran.