Crackdown in Iran: Surge in arrests of journalists covering protests

The detention of media professionals has continued unabated since the fresh wave of protests began in December 2025. Nearly ten months after her conditional release, Vida Rabbaniwas again imprisoned on 31 January under the pretext that she had signed an open letter denouncing the repression carried out by security forces during the recent, demonstrations. The journalist, known for her coverage of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, was released on 17 February on a bail set at 6.5 billion IRR (nearly 4,000 EUR), according toher husband. She had already been arrestedin September 2022 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment for "propaganda against the State" before being released in April 2025. Her fellow journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian, arrested the same day for allegedly signing the same open letter as Vida Rabbani, was also released on 17 February under the same conditions. A freelance journalistand blogger frequently targeted by the regime, Mehdi Mahmoudian is also a human rights defender and co-writer of the film "It Was Just an Accident" by Jafar Panahi, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in France.

The two journalists are among seven imprisoned since the start of the protests, according to RSF information, as the country remains closed off and reliable information is difficult to obtain. On 2 February, the authorities arrested Pedram Alamdari, editor-in-chief of Yulmagazine, followed the next day by Javad Aghajan Nezhad, director of the news website Bi Taarof, who has now been sentenced to one year in prison and banned from working as a journalist for two years for allegedly "disseminating false information by using unreal and falsified documents," according to official documentsobtained by the Iranian press freedom organisation Defending Free Flow of Information in Iran (DEFFI), an RSF partner.

On 19 and 27 January, independent photojournalist Artin Ghazanfariand environmental photographer and blogger Fariborz Heydari, known for photographing endangered wildlife in Iran, were arrested, according to DEFFI. Then, on 31 January, independent journalist Hassan Abbasiwas arrested in the southern city of Bandar Abbas for "spreading false information". The journalist appeared before the court handcuffed and with his feet shackled, "as if he were a serial killer," his lawyer wrote on Xon 16 February. The lawyer also reported that Hassan Abbasi had bedbug bites on his back from his cell.

Vida Rabbani assaulted, Narges Mohammadi sentenced

Before being transferred to Tonekabon prison in northern Iran, Vida Rabbani is reported to have been physically assaulted by security forces, according to her husband. "While she was at the intelligence detention centre of the Sari police, she was violently beaten for refusing to wear the hijab," he wrote on his X account. He added: "The bruises have been photographed and a complaint will be lodged with the relevant authorities." Since 2022, and the regime's repression of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, several women prisoners, including journalists, have reported sexual and physical violence inflicted by their jailers - among them Narges Mohammadi, who was violently assaulted during her most recent arreston 12 December 2025. The journalist, feminist activist and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate saw her ten-year prison sentence increaseon 8 February with additional sentences of six years and one and a half years, according to RSF information from her family's lawyer. Twelve other reporters were already behind bars before the recent unrest, according to RSF data.