Iran on Thursday (September 29th) arrested a journalist who had covered the funeral of Mahsa Amini, her lawyer said, the latest arrest of a growing number of journalists since the start of protests sparked by the death of the young woman after his arrest in Tehran by the morality police.
Journalist Elahe Mohammadi had been summoned by the judicial authorities, but she was arrested by the security forces on her way to this summons for questioning, her lawyer, Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, said on Twitter.
No charge withheld
The reporter had covered for the newspaper “
Ham Mihan
” the funeral of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian who died on September 16 in a hospital.
She had spent three days in a coma following her arrest by the morality police in Tehran, for not respecting the dress code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is very strict for women.
In a post on Twitter, Elahe Mohammadi's husband reported that she told him in a short phone call that she was being held in Evin prison in Tehran and had not been informed of any charges against her at this stage. .
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According to his lawyer, the security forces had searched his home last week.
This arrest comes after that of journalist Nilufar Hamedi, of the daily "
Shargh daily
", who went to the hospital where Mahsa Amini was in a coma and helped publicize the case.
Nilufar Hamedi remains in detention in Evin prison, and her husband said she too was not informed of the charges against her.
Campaign of arrests
According to activists and family members of Mahsa Amini, the young woman died after "
a violent blow to the head
" by the morality police on the day of her arrest.
Authorities have not confirmed.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the case would be “
investigated
”.
The family filed a complaint.
Photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, made famous by an iconic photo of the November 2019 protests in Iran, is also being held in the prison in the city of Qarchak, located south of Tehran and infamous for its conditions.
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Human rights NGOs accuse Iran of carrying out a campaign of arrests of journalists critical of the Iranian authorities, targeting in particular those who covered the death of Mahsa Amini.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 25 journalists have been arrested since the protests began.