On January 22, 2026, Iranian police arrested Hassan Abbasi, a well-known local journalist, in the southern city of Bandar Abbas over his reporting on mass protests. Abbasi was released on bail from Bandar Abbas prison on April 9, 2026, and later fled to Turkey, where he says he fears deportation back to Iran after authorities pursued additional charges related to his protest coverage.
Abbasi, the former managing editor of the Askan News site, which was taken offline in February 2025, has been summoned by police and arrested multiple times over his journalism. After his release, Abbasi told CPJ Iranian authorities charged him with “propaganda against the regime,” “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “cooperation with hostile media and governments.”
He said he spent one month in an intelligence detention center and one month in Bandar Abbas prison.
“I was arrested in very poor physical condition,” Abbasi told CPJ by messaging app, specifying he had a physical disability that made walking difficult. “At first my condition worsened in detention and they transferred me to the operating room in hospital. After kidney surgery they returned me to the intelligence detention center, which had no medical care or treatment facilities.”
Abbasi said prison authorities beat him, denied him adequate medical treatment, and prevented him from contacting his family. “They did not allow me to make phone calls,” he said,
Abbasi told CPJ he believes authorities targeted him “for the crime of journalism.” According to him, authorities pursued him “for covering the people’s protests in January,” including reporting on casualties, alleged abuse in detention centers, and what he described as “the oppression and torture of people in custody.”
He said authorities also accused him of weakening Iran’s national security, because foreign media outlets republished his protest.
Abbasi said he was eventually released on bail because of his deteriorating medical condition and documented physical disability, after his family and lawyers submitted medical records and legal defenses and posted a property deed as bail.
Following his release, authorities froze his bank accounts, confiscated assets, and barred him from working as a journalist. “I was constantly summoned to courts in different provinces,” he said, noting that this occurred while he also trying to continue medical treatment.
Abbasi said he later fled Iran to Turkey with his wife after authorities prepared new charges against him that he said could lead to a 15-year prison sentence or execution. “They have treated me with extreme injustice,” Abbasi said. “I have a physical disability and serious health problems. During my 20 years as a journalist, they illegally imprisoned or detained me almost every year.”
He added that he is now stranded in Turkey without support and fears eventual deportation back to Iran.
Abbasi was detained amid a nationwide internet shutdown that began on January 8 during a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests over economic grievances.
CPJ’s email to the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York requesting comment did not receive a response.