Female journalist arrested in Iran amid protests

Tehran: According to local media on Monday, Iranian authorities have detained three female journalists in the last two days amid months of unrest brought on by Mahsa Amini's death while in custody.

Since the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been detained by morality police on September 16 on allegations of violating the nation's strict dress code for women, riots have erupted across Iran, AFP reported.

Authorities claim that during what they refer to as "riots" sparked by the "enemies" of the Islamic republic, hundreds of people—including security force members—had been slain and thousands have been detained.

“In the past 48 hours, at least three female journalists, namely Melika Hashemi, Saideh Shafiei and Mehrnoush Zarei, have been arrested in Tehran,” reformist newspaper Etemad quoted the Tehran journalists’ union as saying.

The three women, according to the newspaper, have been moved to Evin prison, which is home to numerous people detained in connection with the protests.

Since the beginning of the upheaval in the nation four months ago, it is estimated that roughly 80 journalists have been detained.

The reasons for the most recent arrests were not disclosed in detail.

According to local media, Shafiei is a freelance journalist and novelist, Zarei contributes to a number of reformist periodicals, and Hashemi works for a company called Shahr.

According to local media at the time, more than 300 Iranian journalists signed a statement at the end of October denouncing the government for "arresting colleagues and stripping them of their civil rights."