Report: 90 journalists arrested since women’s rights protests began in Iran

The Iranian authorities have arrested or interrogated more than 90 journalists since nation-wide protests rocked the country in September 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

“More than 90 journalists have been arrested or summoned over the past 10 months in different cities,” the reformist Shargh newspaper said yesterday, quoting a report by an Iranian committee that supports detained journalists.

According to the committee, which was formed in the wake of the Mahsa Amini protests, “the majority of journalists were conditionally released over the past months, while others benefited from amnesty decisions.”

Shargh indicated that six journalists are still in detention, while five others are awaiting a judicial decision regarding their fate.

Among the detained journalists are Elaheh Mohammadi, a reporter with the Ham-Mihan newspaper who published a story about Amini’s funeral in her hometown of Saqqez, and Shargh’s own photographer, Niloufar Hamedi, who had visited the hospital where Amini was being treated while in a coma.

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The Iranian judiciary charged them with “collaborating with the hostile US government” and spreading “propaganda against the state”.

Hundreds were killed, including dozens of security forces, during the protests. Thousands have also been arrested and many of them have been referred to trial over their involvement in the protests, which authorities referred to as “riots”.

Fury grows in Iran over Mahsa Amini who died after hijab arrest – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]