35 journalists arrested in Iran amid protests: CPJ

By Mohammed Rajwa

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said 35 journalists have been arrested in Iran amid protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody.

“At least 35 journalists have been arrested since the start of the #IranProtests; there is only one known release so far,” CPJ said on Twitter.

The New York-based organization said the number of detained journalists is based on their own sources inside Iran.

“Details of those arrested are sparse amid an internet blackout and major disruptions to phone & social media networks,” it said.

The CPJ said Nilufer Hamdi, a correspondent for Tehran-based Daily Sharq newspaper, was among those detained by Iranian authorities.

Hamdi was among the first journalists to report about Mahsa Amini’s hospitalization before her death, according to the CPJ.

Amini died on Sept. 16 in mysterious circumstances after being detained by the morality police in Tehran.

While authorities maintain that she died of cardiac arrest, her family claims she was beaten in police custody, which has fueled angry protests across Iran in recent days and drawn condemnation from across the world, including the UK.

Many countries in the West have issued strongly-worded statements in recent days over Amini's death in police custody, demanding impartial investigations.