At least three women journalists have been arrested in Iran, local sources said Monday, amid protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody in September.
“In the past 48 hours, at least three journalists – Melika Hashemi, Saideh Shafiei and Mehrnoush Zarei – have been arrested,” the Tehran Journalists Association said in a statement.
No information was given on the reasons for the arrests of these journalists, who work for newspapers and an agency.
The reformist daily Etemad said they had been transferred to Tehran’s Evin prison.
This newspaper puts the number of journalists arrested since the demonstrations began in the country four months ago at 79.
At the end of October, more than 300 Iranian journalists and photojournalists wrote an open letter criticizing the authorities for “arresting (their) colleagues and depriving them of their rights”, in particular “access to their lawyers”.
According to authorities, since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed during protests after they were arrested by vice squads for allegedly violating women’s dress codes.