Iranian journalists decry arrests of colleagues, call for their release

Over 300 journalists sign statement denouncing arrests and lack of civil rights, with more than 20 reporters said still in detention across country

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian journalists on Sunday denounced the arrests of several colleagues as protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini entered a seventh week.

Amini died in custody on September 16 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress rules for women.

Dozens of people, mainly demonstrators but also members of the security forces, have been killed during the demonstrations, described as “riots” by the authorities, and hundreds more have been arrested.

Reformist daily Sazandegi said Sunday that “more than 20 journalists are still in detention,” both in the capital Tehran as well as other cities.

Several others have been summoned by the authorities for questioning, the newspaper added.

More than 300 Iranian journalists and photojournalists signed a statement to criticize the authorities for “arresting colleagues and stripping them of their civil rights after their detentions,” according to local media.

In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police last month, in Tehran, October 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)

“They did not have access to their lawyers, they were interrogated and charged before holding a public hearing,” the statement added, calling for the journalists to be released.

In a statement published in the Etemad newspaper, the Tehran journalists’ association dismissed the “security approach” as “illegal” and “in conflict with press freedom.”

The union referred to a report by the security services released on Friday into the origins of the protest movement, which pointed the finger at “interventions of the American regime in the recent riots.”

The security report accused Westerners of having organized “training courses” for Iranians with the aim of changing power in Tehran.

The report notably accused two journalists — identifying them by the initials of their names — of having received this training and of then having “played the role of primary sources for the foreign media.”

According to local media, the report referred to journalist Elaheh Mohammadi from the Sazandegi paper and photographer Niloufar Hamedi of the daily Shargh, who helped publicize the case of Amini, and who have been detained for weeks.

“Our journalist and our newspaper… acted within the framework of the journalistic mission,” said Mehdi Rahmanian, editor of the reformist Shargh. Hamedi was also not the first to have announced the death of Amini, he added.

Sazandegi criticized the “disappointing” report by the intelligence services, adding that “confronting the journalists would lead to the destruction of the media.”