Iranian journalist Nasim Sultan Beygi has been arrested at Tehran’s international airport while she was trying to leave Iran, her mother says, amid an intensifying crackdown on media in the country
Iran Jalili tweeted on January 11 that the arrest took place the previous night.
“Her phone was turned off when she went to hand over her belongings and get her boarding card, and after a few hours she informed us in a short call about her arrest and seizure of her belongings,” Jalili said.
The authorities transferred Sultan Beygi, a former student rights activist, to an unknown location, and there was no information about the accusations against her.
More than 60 journalists have been detained since anti-government protests erupted across Iran in the middle of September. Some of them have been released. Others have been summoned, threatened and had their electronic equipment seized.
Known for its harsh Internet censorship, which includes banning thousands of websites, the Islamic Republic has a large scale shut down the Internet for most of Iranians in an effort to prevent them from accessing and disseminating information online and from communicating safely.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the Islamic Republic was the world’s third biggest jailer of journalists after China and Myanmar, with 47 detainees on December 1, 2022.
A total of 18 female journalists were languishing behind bars in Iran, making the Iranian authorities the top jailers of women journalists after China.
More than 500 people have been killed in the Iranian security forces’ crackdown on the nationwide demonstrations, and over 18,000 have been arrested, according to activists.
Dozens have been handed capital punishment or are facing charges that carry a death sentence. The Islamic Republic has executed four young men in connection with the protests so far, triggering international condemnation.
Source » iranwire