Iran

Payam Fazlinejad, an Iranian reporter who works for the ultra-conservative daily Kayhan was assaulted earlier this week. The official news agency IRNA said he was taken to Bagiolah Azam hospital after being seriously injured in an attack by several individuals on motorcycles on the evening of February 21in Tehran. Fazlinejad began his career as a journalist working for the weekly Sinema at the end...

Iranian authorities are now holding 47 journalists in prison, more than any single country has imprisoned since 1996, according to a new survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). While many of the detainees were arrested in the aftermath of the disputed June presidential election, CPJ’s survey found that authorities are continuing to wage an aggressive campaign to round up independent...

The Iranian government, struggling to silence the many critical voices in the country, has arrested 11 journalists since Sunday, including former International Press Freedom Award recipient Mashallah Shamsolvaezin and the prominent writer Emadeddin Baghi, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. CPJ condemned the arrests and called for the release of all detained...

Iranian authorities censored coverage of the death of a leading reformist cleric, shut down yet another reformist newspaper this week, and continued to arrest journalists in recent days, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. The BBC reported on Monday that the Iranian Labor News Agency was warned by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to report less on...

Iranian authorities decided on Monday to shut the reformist daily Hayate No. The Press Supervisory Board revoked the licence of the Tehran-based daily Hayate No “for working outside the regulations,” the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported quoting local news reports. The agency provided no details of the alleged violations. Hayate No is considered supportive of...

Two prominent Iranian journalists, Hengameh Shahidi and Saeed Laylaz, have been sentenced to extended prison terms. Shahidi was sentenced on Monday to six years and three months in prison, while Laylaz was sentenced to a prison sentence of no fewer than nine years, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported quoting local and international news reports. Shahidi‎, who is...

With the release of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari on bail, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Iranian authorities to release the 25 journalists who still remain in prison. Bahari, Newsweek’s Tehran correspondent, was released on $300,000 bail on Saturday after spending almost four months in prison, the magazine reported. Newsweek announced his arrival in...

Iranian authorities decided to revoke the licences of three reformist newspapers on Sunday and Monday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. The Press Supervisory Board revoked the licences of the Tehran-based dailies Farhang-e Aashti and Arman on Sunday, according to local and international news reports. On Monday, the same state agency’s offices in Fars province...

Iranian judicial authorities are continuing to hold journalists employed by foreign news media including, Maziar Bahari, the correspondent of the US news magazine Newsweek, arrested exactly three months ago, and Fariba Pajooh, a stringer for Radio France Internationale and other media, who Tuesday began her second month in detention. Bahari has dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship. “The recent...

Iranian authorities arrested one journalist Tuesday while security forces summoned another 15 who were among the signatories of a recent petition demanding the release of detained journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported. Morteza Alviri, a journalist aligned with defeated presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi, was arrested by judiciary agents at his home today, local press...