Washington D.C., September 26, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to end their crackdown on journalists and release all arrested since the start of anti-government protests last week.
“Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown. They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent,” CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Sherif Mansour said Monday. “Authorities must stop arresting those covering the protests and immediately release those in custody.”
CPJ has documented the arrests of at least 20 journalists as clashes between security forces and protesters left dozens dead during nationwide protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned on Saturday that the government would “deal decisively” with protesters.
CPJ emailed requests for comment on the arrests to the Iran missions based in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the United Nations headquarters in New York, but did not receive a response.