Iranian security forces arrested Iranian Kurdish journalist Marzieh Talaee on September 22, 2022 as she was covering protests following the September 16 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini in morality police custody for allegedly violating the country’s conservative dress law.
Talaee covers politics and local news for the semi-independent Kurdish news website Mukrian News Agency in the Kurdish city of Saqqez.
On September 22, the reporter was crossing the street with another Mukrian News Agency journalist, Ali Khatibzadeh, to cover the protests in Saqqez when they were arrested and beaten, according to an eye-witness source who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.
CPJ has been unable to determine where Talaee is held, whether she is facing charges, or the status of her 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.