The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says at least 58 journalists in Iran have been arrested during the nationwide unrest sparked by the death of a 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody.
In a statement published on December 13, the IFJ asked the government of the Islamic Republic not to use the so-called "Women, Life, Freedom" protests as a tool to suppress the independent media.
According to the IFJ, before the start of the protests following Amin's death on September 16 while being held for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly, five journalists were in prison. The number has since risen "alarmingly."
"We ask the Iranian authorities not to use the coverage of national protests as an excuse to suppress the media," said Anthony Belanger, the secretary general of the IFJ, in the statement.
"Every citizen in Iran has the right to know what is going on...Our colleagues should be released immediately and be allowed to report the events freely," he added.
Last month, Iran's judiciary charged two female journalists who reported Amini's death with propaganda offenses amid a government crackdown on unrest and dissent sparked by the incident.
Niloufar Hamedi took a photo of Mahsa Amini's parents embracing in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma while in police custody. Her post of the photo on Twitter was the first report about the case.
Amini, 22, died days after being detained by the notorious morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code. Authorities have blamed "underlying diseases" for the cause of death, but supporters and family members say Amini was beaten while in custody.
Elahe Mohammadi covered Amini's funeral in her hometown of Saghez, which marked the beginning of mass protests that have swept across the country.
Iran's intelligence services have accused Hamedi, 30, and Mohammadi, 35, of being CIA agents, part of a government narrative -- put forward without evidence -- that the United States and other Western powers are behind the unrest.
The protests have seen more than 400 people killed and thousands detained, according to human rights groups. Despite government warnings that the crackdown will intensify, Iranians continue to take to the streets.
Several thousand others have been arrested since Amini's death, including many protesters, lawyers, activists, and digital-rights defenders.