On January 22, 2026, Hassan Abbasi, a well-known local journalist, was arrested by Iranian police in the southern city of Bandar Abbas on charges of spreading false information and inciting unrest, according to the advocacy group Human Rights in Iran.
Posts published on Abbasi’s X account by an administrator said the journalist was recovering from illness, with a tube inserted in his urinary tract. Human Rights in Iran said Abbasi had undergone surgery for kidney disease and posted a video of him in hospital.
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.
CPJ was unable to confirm the charges against Abbasi or his current whereabouts.
Abbasi was among journalists detained after a nationwide internet shutdown began on January 8 as part of Iran’s bloodiest crackdown since the 1979 revolution. On December 28, 2025, demonstrations over economic grievances expanded into nationwide protests. The death toll has been impossible to verify due to the communications shutdown, with estimates in late January 2026 ranging from 3,000 to 30,000.
CPJ’s January 2026 email to the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York requesting comment did not receive a response.