Mahtab Gholizadeh

Mahtab Gholizadeh is an Iranian economic journalist. She was the only female reporter in Iran who has been interviewed by foreign TV channels from Tehran about the protests against the Islamic Republic. Her report on corruption in the Islamic Republic led to the security forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence service forcibly entering her home, confiscating her means of communication and arresting her. A year later, she was sentenced to three years in prison, banned from journalistic activities and even banned from using social networks.

During her 16-year career as a journalist, Mahtab Gholizadeh focused on economic issues, corruption in institutions of power, annual budgets, and oil and gas in the Middle East. She personally and seriously pursued issues related to women's rights in Iran and the hijab requirement. Mahtab Gholizadeh particularly campaigned for Iranian women to be allowed to enter the stadium. Despite her conviction, she continued to face pressure from the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Service, who repeatedly summoned or threatened her. Mahtab Gholizadeh is currently filming a documentary about a journalist in Iran.

She is currently a holder of the Rest & Resilience Fellowship of Reporters Without Borders and the taz Panter Foundation. This enables her to spend some time in Berlin to concentrate on her professional work.