Iranian security forces arrested Iranian journalist Mandana Sadeghi, as well as her husband, on October 18, 2022, from their home in the southern city of Abadan in Khuzestan province.
Sadeghi, a freelancer, covers local news in Abadan for a variety of news websites including the semi-independent news website Peace Mark.
Before her arrest, she 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 Sadeghi’s tweets after the start of the protests, but they have since disappeared from the social media platform.
Exile-based news site Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that the journalist and her husband are detained in the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province.
According to a tweet by the exile-based human rights news website, Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO), the couple have been denied access to a lawyer since their arrests.
CPJ was unable to determine the status of Sadeghi’s health in custody.
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.