The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) announced in a report on March 22, 2020, that four journalists had been tried in court, following a legal complaint by the Governor of Shahrood against journalists who had published a critical report on the governor's decision to cut the city’s water supply during the summer of 2019. 

All four of the journalists have been charged with “publishing lies.”

ShahroodNews reported on the case, saying: “During the days that the city of Shahrood’s water supply was cut, some online media outlets published strong criticisms of the former governor of the city, Mohammad Karam Mohammadi, and tried to hold the governor accountable for his duties by publishing a wide range of the people’s demands. However, it wasn’t long before the Governor’s Office of Shahrood formally filed legal complaints against media outlets such as Jarchi, ShahroodNews and a number of others.”

After the trial, which took place in mid-March 2020 in Branch 104 of the Criminal Courts of Shahrood, Zolfaghari was fined 1.8 million tomans. Zolfaghari was informed of the court’s sentence on March 18, 2020.

He subsequently appealed the lower court’s ruling in his case and is awaiting the verdict of the Court of Appeals.

Mehdi Ameri, Mohammad Hossein Nademi and Mostafa Shari were among the other journalists convicted of the same charge following similar legal complaints from the Municipality and Governor’s Office of Shahrood.