Iran Arrests Journalist Mehdi Beyk, Who Interviewed Families Of Detained Protesters

Mehdi Beyk, the head of the political department of the reformist daily Etemad, has been arrested in Tehran, adding to the dozens of media members taken into custody by authorities amid months of unrest in Iran sparked by the death of a young woman while she was detained by the notorious morality police.

Beyk was arrested by the Intelligence Ministry on January 5 and his mobile phone, notebook, and personal belongings were seized, his wife said on Twitter.

Beyk is the third journalist arrested in the past few days. Shargh reporter Milad Alavi was arrested over the weekend, while journalist Mehdi Ghadimi was reportedly detained on January 1.

The charges against them are not clear. Beyk had interviewed the families of several of those arrested in antiestablishment protests -- including detainees facing the death sentence -- in recent weeks.

Numerous journalists have been arrested in past weeks amid Iran’s crackdown on unrest triggered by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her arrest by Tehran’s morality police.

Shargh published in December a list of nearly 40 journalists and photojournalists held in connection with the protests.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York, more than 80 media workers have been arrested during the protests.

They include Shargh journalist Niloofar Hamedi and Hammihan reporter Elahe Mohammadi, who helped break the story about Amini.

The intelligence service recently described the women as foreign agents, accusations their newspapers deny.

At least two photojournalists, Ahmad Halabisaz and Yalda Moaiery, were also arrested while covering the protests in Tehran in September. Both were released on bail.

Halabisaz later said on Instagram that he had been sentenced to five years in prison and banned from working as a journalist for two years.

Moaiery said on Instagram on January 6 that she has been sentenced to six years in prison as well as community work. She also said that she has been banned from using a cellphone, being on social media, and travelling abroad for two years.

The CPJ has called on Iran to release all journalists behind bar in the country.

Last month, it listed Iran as the worst jailer of journalists in the world, followed by China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus.

With reporting by dpa