Iran convicts 4 media workers over coverage of alleged corruption in Oil Ministry
On July 5, 2021, Judge Abbas Shaghaghi of Branch 6 of Tehran’s Media Court convicted four members of the press on criminal false news and defamation charges, according to reports by the exile-run news website IranWire and the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The court convicted Mizenaft managing director Hamid Hajipour, Naftema managing director Mehdi Ghadiri,…
Syrian Kurdish security forces detain fixer Kamiran Sadoun overnight in Raqqa
On June 16, 2021, officers with the Syrian Democratic Forces’ General Security agency detained Kamiran Sadoun, a fixer for international journalists, for several hours in a jail in the city of Raqqa, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and a statement by the local press freedom group the Syrian Kurdish…
Iranian journalist Najaf Mehdipour imprisoned with no charges disclosed
Washington, D.C., May 24, 2021 — Iranian authorities must immediately release journalist Najaf Mehdipour, known as Kaveh, and stop arbitrarily arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 18, authorities in the eastern city of Darreh Shahr, in Ilam province, arrested Mehdipour, a freelance journalist, at his home and…
Iran detained at least 8 Kurdish journalists starting in mid-2020; 3 remain behind bars
Washington, D.C., May 12, 2021 — Iranian authorities must stop imprisoning and harassing Kurdish and other minority journalists, and should allow all members of the press to cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since May 2020, Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of activists and students in a crackdown on perceived…
Iranian authorities jail journalist Amir Dehbashi in defamation case
Washington, D.C., March 23, 2021 — Iranian authorities must release journalist Amir Dehbashi immediately and cease arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 17, security forces in the southwestern province of Bushehr arrested Dehbashi, a freelance reporter, and took him to a regional prison in the provincial capital, also…
Iran convicts 5 newspaper and news agency employees on false news charges
Washington, D.C., March 17, 2021 – Iranian authorities should cease prosecuting journalists on false news charges, and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 14, Judge Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Kashkooli of Branch 9 of Tehran’s Media Court convicted the managing director of the state-run Fars News Agency…
Iranian journalist Nooshin Jafari begins 4-year jail term on propaganda and insult charges
New York, February 18, 2021 – Iranian authorities should immediately release Nooshin Jafari and stop imprisoning members of the press for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 16, police arrested Jafari at her home in Tehran and took her to the city’s Qarchak Prison to begin serving a four-year sentence,…
Iran arrests journalist Reza Taleshian Jelodarzadeh
Washington, D.C., February 5, 2021—Iranian authorities must release journalist Reza Taleshian Jelodarzadeh and stop arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 20, Jelodarzadeh, editor-in-chief of the Tehran-based Nour-e Azadi magazine, wrote on his Instagram account that he had been arrested by Iranian authorities and was being transferred to Greater Tehran Prison. He also…
Deportation for Iranian journalist Mohammad Mosaed ‘not on the table’ in Turkey, official says
Washington, D.C., January 19, 2021 — Iranian journalist Mohamed Mosaed has requested asylum in Turkey, his lawyer Canan Pehlivan told the Committee Protect Journalist today. CPJ is calling on Turkish authorities to conduct an expedited review of his request, as Mosaed faces imprisonment in Iran in reprisal for his journalism. Pehlivan told CPJ that Mosaed…
Turkish authorities must halt deportation of Iranian journalist Mohammad Mosaed, CPJ 2020 awardee
Washington, D.C., January 18, 2021—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to immediately halt the deportation of Iranian investigative journalist Mohammad Mosaed to Iran. Mosaed was honored with CPJ’s 2020 International Press Freedom Award in November. Yesterday, Mosaed contacted CPJ via messaging app, saying he had been detained by Turkish border police after…