Washington D.C., October 17, 2024—CPJ is alarmed by reports that Iranian authorities arrested Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh in September in the capital, Tehran, and have since detained him in Evin prison without access to a lawyer, according to a former colleague, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of government reprisal.
Some reports indicated Valizadeh was facing charges of collaborating with Persian-language media outlets abroad; CPJ was unable to confirm what charges or potential penalties he faces.
“Iranian authorities must immediately release journalist Reza Valizadeh and drop any charges levied against him,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Iranian journalists working and living abroad should be free to visit their homeland without fear of prosecution for their profession.”
Valizadeh, a former reporter and news anchor at the United States Congress-funded Persian-language Radio Farda, returned to Iran in February 2024 after 16 years of working as a journalist in the U.S., those sources said. Security agents with the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Republic Guard Corps (IRGC) detained and questioned Valizadeh at the airport before conditionally releasing him.
Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 and subsequently worked as a freelance journalist with several other Farsi-speaking media outlets in exile, according to the former colleague. Valizadeh previously reported for French broadcaster Radio France and the Persian-language service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America.
CPJ’s email to Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York requesting comment on Valizadeh’s detention did not receive a reply.