Iranian security forces arrested Iranian journalist Mohammad Paki on November 22, 2022.
Paki is a freelance reporter and commentator on sports for several Iranian sports news websites. He is also a student at Tehran Azad University.
He was arrested November 22 in Tehran, according to the exile-run Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and a source familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
According to the source, he had been covering how the controversy over national protests in Iran had played out during the 2022 World Cup in the lead up to his arrest.
Protests in Iran began in mid-September following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, after morality police arrested her for allegedly violating the country’s conservative dress law.
CPJ was unable to determine what, if any, charges the journalist faces, where he is held, or the status of his health in custody.
Authorities have arrested dozens of journalists in Iran as protests spread across the country after Amini’s death. Several of them have been 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.