More than 80 journalists and media workers have been detained in Iran in recent weeks, including Mehdi Beyk, editor of the reformist daily ‘Etemad’, the newspaper confirmed.
His arrest follows strong protests in the country since mid-September after young Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested for violating the Islamic dress code.
His wife has explained in statements to the media that he was arrested on Thursday and that both his cell phone and notebook have been confiscated by the authorities.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement released on Friday that the total number of journalists arrested amounts to more than 80 and warned that the «possibility of practicing journalism in the country is severely restricted».
Iran’s authorities have come under increasing pressure since the protests began nearly four months ago. Some of the detained journalists are being held in Tehran’s Evin prison, where Nilufar Hamedi and Elahé Mohammadi, who first published Amini’s story, are also being held.
The measures put in place by the government in the wake of the demonstrations have caused Iran to top the list of countries with the highest number of imprisoned journalists, as reported by CPJ itself.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
