An Iranian lawyer says the Iranian Revolutionary Court is not qualified to investigate the charges of two imprisoned journalists who covered the death of Mahsa Amini.

“According to the constitution, the branches of the Revolutionary Court do not have the jurisdiction to deal with political and journalistic cases,” said Arash Keikhosravi.

He said that according to law, Elahe Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi should have been released by now and their case should have been referred to one of the branches of the Criminal Court.

Their case has to be investigated in the presence of a jury in an open court, so that justice can be served, he added after the first hearing was held Monday in Tehran behind closed doors.

The two journalists have been charged with propaganda against the regime and conspiracy to commit acts against national security, which could bear death sentences.

Hamedi managed to visit Mahsa Amini in Tehran’s Kasra hospital and broke the news of her grave condition after being taken into the custody of the morality police three days earlier for wearing her hijab “improperly”. Amini was in a coma at the time.

Mohammadi, likewise, managed to travel to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in western Iran to report on her funeral on September 17, which thousands attended.

The US State Department has called the "sham" trial a "mockery of justice" and shows the Islamic Republic's fear of journalists.