Iranian reporters still behind bars

Iranian authorities have questioned or arrested over 90 journalists since nationwide protests rocked the Islamic Republic last year, local media reported.

Mass demonstrations erupted in September 2022 following the death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.

Hundreds of people including security forces were killed and thousands arrested over their participation in what the authorities have described as “riots” fomented by the West.

Most have been released on bail or granted amnesty, but the fate of 11 journalists, including six detained and five others awaiting verdicts, “is still unknown,” said the report published on Iran’s National Journalists’ Day, celebrated on August 8.

According to the World Press Freedom Index 2023 issued by Reporters Without Borders on May 3 to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, Iran is considered one of the world's worst countries for press freedom. It has been ranked 177th out of 180 nations in worldwide assessments of press freedoms.