CPJ joined more than 30 groups to urge Iran to free jailed journalists, activists, and restore internet access
On January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists, along with more than 30 press freedom and human rights organizations, called for urgent protections for journalists, human rights defenders, and others jailed for their writing, expression of opinion, or peaceful assembly amid nationwide protests and internet shutdown. The signatory organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately…
Bahá’í photographer arrested in Iran amid internet blackout
Paris, January 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release freelance documentary photographer Navid Zarrehbin Irani, and to halt the systematic harassment and intimidation of journalists in Iran. Irani was arrested on January 16, 2026, at his home in Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province in northeastern Iran, according…
Iran’s internet blackout tightens information chokehold amid spreading protests
Paris, January 13, 2026—Iranian authorities have imposed a near-total internet shutdown as nationwide protests intensify, severely restricting journalists’ ability to report and cutting off communication with the outside world. The blackout began on January 8, more than a week after protests erupted in late December over mounting economic pressure, currency devaluation, and rising living costs….
Iran detains Iraqi Kurdish reporter and crew covering cultural festival
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, December 9, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release Iraqi Kurdish reporter Omer Ahmed and his crew, who were arrested on December 3 in the city of Sardasht in West Azerbaijan province while covering a cultural festival. “The arrest of Omer Ahmed and his crew shows…
Iranian authorities arrest economist and editor Parviz Sedaghat amid crackdown
Paris, November 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release editor and economist Parviz Sedaghat and halt their escalating campaign against journalists, academics, and writers commenting on social and economic injustices. Sedaghat, editor-in-chief of Naghde Eqtesad Siyasi (Political Economy Critique), an independent platform that publishes critical essays on the economy…
Imprisoned for telling the truth: A Q&A with Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh’s brother
Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has spent more than a year imprisoned in Iran, enduring severe psychological torment and relentless interrogations for the simple fact that he is a journalist. Initially detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, his already dire situation deteriorated significantly after a devastating Israeli attack on the facility. Valizadeh was transferred to the dangerously overcrowded and medically inadequate Fashafouyeh Prison, where extreme neglect and inhumane…
Iranian city authorities evict journalists’ association from its offices
Paris, August 28, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, to respect the Tehran Journalists’ Association’s right to function without undue interference after the mayor’s office of the Iranian capital city ousted the organization, in what the group described as retaliatory action. “We strongly oppose the forced closure of…
Iran arrests 98 ‘citizen-journalists’ for contact with UK-based outlet
Paris, July 31, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to explain the grounds on which they have summoned and arrested 98 “so-called citizen-journalists” for having contact with a London-based Persian-language television channel. “Iranian authorities must immediately clarify the legal basis for this mass detention of its citizens and cease treating those who…