Iranian authorities have arrested 18 journalists since the start of protests sparked by the death in custody of a young woman arrested by vice squads, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced on Monday (September 26th).
CPJ said in a statement that it "
learned from multiple sources in Iran that on Sunday, September 25, at least 18 journalists were arrested
," including several during overnight raids on their homes and "
without arrest warrants or explanation of the charges
" at against them.
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Many activists were also arrested, including the right to expression activist Hossein Ronaghi.
After escaping police officers who came to his home while giving an interview to the London-based Iran International channel, he was arrested on Saturday along with his two lawyers, according to this media.
"
In a context of great violence, by attacking journalists after having largely restricted access to WhatsApp and Instagram, the Iranian authorities are sending a clear message: no account of the protests should be broadcast
", denounced Reporters sans frontières (RSF) in a press release last Friday.
1200 arrests in total
RSF demanded "
that these journalists be immediately released, as well as the immediate lifting of all restrictions that deny the right of Iranians to be informed
".
Among the 18 journalists arrested, according to CPJ and RSF, who are calling for their release, are Nilufar Hamedi, who visited the hospital where Mahsa Amini was in a coma and helped alert the world to her fate .
Photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, made famous by an emblematic photo of the November 2019 protests, is also concerned.
According to the latest official report, at least 41 people have been killed and more than 1,200 arrested in Iran since the announcement on September 16 of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The young woman had fallen into a coma after being arrested in Tehran on September 13 for "
wearing inappropriate clothes
" because a veil insufficiently covered her hair in the eyes of the morality police.