Iran steps up arrests of activists, journalists

Iran steps up arrests of activists, journalists

The arrests come on top of severe Internet restrictions and blocking of sites including Instagram and WhatsApp
The arrests come on top of severe Internet restrictions and blocking of sites including Instagram and WhatsApp. Photo: - / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!

Iran is stepping up arrests of activists and journalists in a crackdown against civil society as anti-regime protests continue to rage nationwide, activists said on Monday.

Eighteen journalists have been imprisoned since the protests erupted earlier this month over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by the country's notorious morality police, according to the Washington-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Numerous activists and lawyers have also been held, including the prominent freedom of speech campaigner Hossein Ronaghi who was arrested over the weekend, reports in Persian-language media abroad said.

The arrests come on top of severe Internet restrictions and blocking of sites including Instagram and WhatsApp, which activists say is aimed at preventing details of the protests filtering out to the outside world.

"By targeting journalists amid a great deal of violence after restricting access to WhatsApp and Instagram, the Iranian authorities are sending a clear message that there must be no coverage of the protests," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.

Read also

Police clash with Iran protesters in London and Paris

Ronaghi, who is bitterly critical of Iran's Islamic leadership and has contributed to the Washington Post, said in a video posted at the weekend that he had initially eluded arrest by escaping his flat when agents came for him at home.

PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!

But security forces detained him on Saturday along with both his lawyers, London-based Iran International said, saying that he had told his family from prison that he had been beaten in detention.

Activists also said two university students in their early 20s who were also beginning careers as writers -- Banafsheh Kamali and Maedeh Jamal -- had been arrested.

Videos were posted on social media claimed to show the moment when Jamal was arrested with a female voice yelling "Help! Help!".

Among the 18 journalists held, according to the CPJ, are photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, who won international recognition for an iconic 2019 photo of protests and reporter Nilufar Hamedi who exposed the case of Amini by going to the hospital where she was in a coma.

Read also

Death toll doubles in 'harrowing' Iran protest crackdown

Meanwhile, the authorities also arrested five prominent members of the Bahai religious minority in different cities across the country, said Diane Alai, representative of the Bahai International Community (BIC) to the UN in Geneva.

The Bahai, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority but not recognised in the Islamic Republic, had already been experiencing a crackdown even before the protests started with senior figures arrested and homes destroyed.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.