Iranian journalist Mohammad-Bagher Moradi disappeared in Ankara, Turkey, on May 30, 2022. He has been held in Evin prison in Iran since November 2022.
Moradi is a freelance reporter covering news from Iran for several exiled-based news websites including the Telegram channel Amad News, according to a source familiar with his case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
Moradi, who was in exile in Ankara, left home to buy bread on May 30, 2022 and never returned, according to exiled-based TV channel Iran International.
Moradi’s father, Mohsen Moradi told Iran International at the time that “my son was working as an opposition journalist in Iran. Iranian intelligence was after him.” After his May disappearance, his family filed a case at the Turkish public prosecutor’s office, claiming that Moradi “was kidnapped by Iranian Intelligence agents.”
Moradi’s family lawyer in Turkey, Salih Efe, told U.S. Congress-funded Radio Farda in 2022 that the journalist was detained in Turkey for five months and was extradited to Iran by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents.
In December 2022, Efe confirmed in a phone call with CPJ that Turkish intelligence, MIT, first held Moradi and abused him, without providing further details.
According to Radio Farda, Moradi contacted his family by phone on November 4, 2022, confirming his arrest by IRGC forces and his detention in Iran. He was able to place two more calls to his family.
Moradi is currently serving a five-year prison sentence on a conviction of “spreading propaganda against the system” dating from a 2013 case over his journalism, a source familiar with the case told CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to the fear of reprisal. He was arrested at the time and was released on bail.
In late 2022, Moradi was convicted of “spreading propaganda against the system,” “disturbing public opinion,” “acting against national security,” and “cooperating with anti-state media,” according to exile-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. CPJ was unable to determine the length of his sentence; he has not yet begun to serve it as he is still serving the sentence dating from 2013.
In April 2023, Moradi left Evin prison on a medical furlough to undergo surgery on a tumor in his neck, according to RadioFarda. Authorities forced him to go back to prison 10 days later and he has limited access to medical care, according to a source who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.
CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in late 2024 for comment on the cases of imprisoned Iranian journalists but received no response. In 2022, CPJ also emailed the press office of the Turkish interior ministry, which oversees the police and the immigration authority, and the president’s office, which oversees the MIT, but did not receive a response.