Iranian security forces arrested Iranian journalist Saba Sherdoust, along with her husband Milad Fadaei Asl, also a journalist, from their Tehran home on October 10, 2022.
Sherdoust is a freelance reporter covering local news for several news websites including exile-based Tribune Zamaneh and The Feminist School.
Prior to her arrest, Sherdoust covered protests on her Twitter account following the September 16 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 reviewed Sherdoust’s tweets after the start of the protests, but they have since disappeared from the social media platform.
According to a source familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to the fear of reprisal, Sherdoust and her husband are in Evin Prison, where they are being held separately in solitary confinement. The source told CPJ that security officers interrogate them daily.
According to the source, they have not been made aware of any charges against them. CPJ was unable to determine the condition of Sherdoust’s 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.