Journalist who covered Mahsa Amini funeral arrested by Iran

Iran has arrested a reporter who covered the funeral of Mahsa Amini, her lawyer says, the latest of a growing number of journalists to be detained since protests erupted over the young woman’s death.

Elahe Mohammadi was summoned by the judicial authorities but was then arrested by security forces while she was on her way to questioning, her lawyer Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi writes on Twitter.

Writing for Iran’s Ham Mihan newspaper, Mohammadi had covered the funeral of Amini, 22, who had spent three days in a coma following her arrest by Tehran’s notorious morality police and died on September 16.

The funeral in Amini’s home town of Saqqez in Kurdistan province was one of the sparks that ignited the protest movement, with mourners shouting slogans and mourners removing their headscarves in defiance of the Islamic Republic’s dress rules.

Mohammadi’s husband says on Twitter that she had said in a short phone call she was being held in Tehran’s Evin prison and had not been informed of any charges.

Her arrest comes after police detained journalist Nilufar Hamedi of the Shargh daily, who went to the hospital where Amini lay in a coma and helped expose the case to the world.

Rights groups accuse Iran of carrying out a major round-up of critical journalists still inside the country, targeting especially those who have covered the case of Amini. Internet access is also severely restricted.

The Washington-based Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 25 journalists have been arrested since the protests erupted.