41 journalists detained in Iran for covering murder protests

The Iranian Law Enforcement Forces, known as the Guidance Patrol, have detained 41 journalist arrested for covering the mass protests that was sparked by the murder of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, who was killed in police custody for not wearing her hijab properly.

The victim was arrested in late September but died three days later while in an intensive care unit of a hospital in Tehran where she was rushed to.

Though the police had denied physically assaulting her, hospital records and scans showed she was severely beaten, wounded and died of intracerebral haemorrhage.

Her death led to nationwide demonstrations which has seen more than 200 people killed in clashes with security forces.

READ ALSO:Iran President pledges ‘decisive’ action against hijab protests in wake of Amini’s death

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a statement on Friday, revealed that the journalists were arrested in different cities and have been clamped into various jails for covering the protests.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), in a statement, also said it is worrisome that innocent journalists will be arrested and held in the Tehran prisons for doing their jobs, especially since they were unaccounted for after a recent fire outbreak in a prison facility.

“We are very concerned about the fate of our colleagues in Evin and remind the Iranian authorities that they are responsible for the lives of journalists in prison,” IFJ Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said in the statement.

Bellanger also called for the “release of all journalists who are unfairly detained in Evin and other prisons in Iran for doing their job.”

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