Iranian security forces arrested Iranian photojournalist Aria Jaffari on September 28, 2022.
Jaffari is a photojournalist covering culture, politics, and sports for the semi-official state-run Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). He is a two-time winner of the Iran Press Photo of the Year award.
According to a report by exile-run news agency IranWire, citing the Iranian Photojournalists Association, Jaffari was arrested by security forces on September 28 from his home in the central city of Isfahan in Isfahan province.
CPJ reviewed photographs on social media of Jaffari in the field reporting on national protests ahead of his arrest. Protests began in Iran after the September 16 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, after morality police arrested her for allegedly violating the country’s conservative dress law.
According to a source with knowledge of Jaffari’s case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal, the journalist is held in Isfahan Central Prison.
According to the IranWire report, Jaffari hasn’t been permitted to contact his family. CPJ has been unable to determine what, if any charges, the journalist faces and the status of the journalist’s health in prison.
Authorities arrested dozens of journalists as the protests over Amini’s death spread across the country. Several of them were later released on bail.
CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in late 2022 for comment on the cases of imprisoned Iranian journalists but received no response.