Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani detained on undisclosed charges
New York, June 8, 2023—Iranian authorities must release cartoonist Atena Farghadani and stop their unabated efforts to silence commentators and members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Wednesday, June 7, authorities arrested Farghadani at Evin Prison in the capital city of Tehran after she responded to a summons to appear…
Iranian radio journalist Sajjad Shahrabi arrested, transferred to prison
Washington, D.C., May 8, 2023—Iranian authorities should immediately release radio journalist Sajjad Shahrabi and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 3, security forces arrested Shahrabi, a reporter and radio host for the state-owned outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), after raiding his father’s house in the…
Iranian journalist Hasan Abbasi detained in undisclosed location
Washington, D.C., May 4, 2023—Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Hasan Abbasi and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On April 30, security forces arrested Abbasi, a freelance investigative reporter who covers news in the southern city of Bandar Abbas, in Hormozgan province, according to news reports. His detention was a…
Journalist Kayvan Samimi rearrested in Iran, held in undisclosed location
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2023—Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Kayvan Samimi, drop any charges against him, and release all members of the press held for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On April 20, authorities in Tehran arrested Samimi, the editor-in-chief of the state-run Iran-e Farda magazine, and took him to an undisclosed…
Journalist Saeed Seif-Ali rearrested in Iran
Washington, D.C., April 17, 2023—Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Saeed Seif-Ali and drop any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On April 11, authorities summoned Seif-Ali, editor-in-chief of the state-run news website Didbaniran.ir, and then arrested him and took him to an undisclosed location, according to news reports. Seif-Ali was previously…
Iran’s seizure of detained journalists’ devices raises fears of fresh arrests, convictions
Five months after the death of a young woman in morality police custody sparked widespread protests, Iranian authorities are charging journalists who covered the uprising with anti-state crimes. In many of these cases, authorities have powerful tools at their disposal to aid in convictions: journalists’ phones and laptops. CPJ counted at least 95 journalists arrested since the start of the protests….
Iranian authorities arrest Kurdish journalist Siamand Mohtadi
Washington, D.C., February 13, 2023 – Iranian authorities must drop any charges against freelance Kurdish journalist Siamand Mohtadi and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, February 11, authorities arrested Mohtadi after raiding his home in the Kurdish city of Bukan, in West Azerbaijan province, and took him to an…
Journalist Elnaz Mohammadi arrested at Evin Prison in Iran
Washington, D.C., February 6, 2023 – Iranian authorities must drop any charges against journalist Elnaz Mohammadi and release her immediately and unconditionally, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On February 5, authorities arrested Mohammadi, head of the social issues desk at the state-run Hammihan newspaper, after she responded to a summons to answer questions…
Iranian journalists face long prison terms, lashes, and harsh restrictions over protest coverage
Washington, D.C., January 11, 2023 – Iranian authorities must drop all charges filed against journalists in retaliation for their coverage of protests in the country and stop handing down harsh prison sentences to members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Iranian authorities have arrested at least 88 journalists since September 2022,…
Forensic tools open new front for using phone data to prosecute journalists
On April 13, police in Russia’s Khakassiya republic arrested Mikhail Afanasyev and seized his digital devices. Afanasyev, chief editor of the online magazine Novy Fokus, was detained based on an article about riot police in southern Siberia refusing to serve in Ukraine. He faces a possible 10-year prison sentence for spreading “false” information. It’s not surprising for…