Iranian security forces arrested Farkhondeh Ashori on October 17, 2022, from her home in the central city of Shiraz in Shiraz province.
Ashori used Twitter to report on protests following 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.
CPJ reviewed Ashori’s tweets after the start of the protests, but they have since disappeared from the social media platform.
According to the exile-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), security forces ransacked her home, taking her laptop, phone, and passport and arresting the journalist.
A source familiar with Ashori’s case told CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal that the journalist is detained in Shiraz Central Prison and that she is not permitted to contact her family.
CPJ was unable to determine what, if any, charges the journalist faces, or 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.