TEHRAN: Iran has arrested the lawyer of two female journalists detained after reporting the death of a woman in custody, which sparked three months of protests, a newspaper said Saturday.
The Islamic Republic has been rocked by protests since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16 after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country’s dress code for women.
“Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, the lawyer for several activists and journalists, has been detained,” the Ham Mihan newspaper said.
The arrest brings to 25 the number of lawyers detained in connection with the protests, the reformist daily said.
Kamfirouzi’s lawyer Mohammad Ali Bagherpour was cited as saying his client had not received a summons, was unaware of the charges he faced and that he had been detained without any legal formalities.
Ham Mihan quoted Kamfirouzi’s brother as saying that the lawyer had been arrested on Wednesday. He said he held the judiciary was “responsible for protecting my brother’s life and health.”
Among Kamfirouzi’s clients were Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, the two female journalists arrested after covering Amini’s death and its aftermath.
Hamedi, who works at the reformist newspaper Shargh, was detained on September 20 after visiting the hospital where Amini had spent three days in a coma before her death.
Mohammadi, a journalist at Ham Mihan, was taken into custody on September 29 after she traveled to Amini’s hometown of Saqez in Kurdistan province to report on her funeral.
The pair were charged on November 8 with propaganda against the state and conspiring against national security — capital crimes under the sharia law in force in Iran.
On Tuesday, the Shargh newspaper published a list of nearly 40 journalists and photojournalists arrested in Iran in connection with the protests.
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concern about their fate and demanded their immediate release.
Iran said on December 3 that more than 200 people have been killed in the protests — which it describes as “riots” — including dozens of security personnel.
Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said Iran’s security forces had killed at least 469 people in the protests, in an updated toll issued on Saturday.
Thousands of people have been arrested since the protests erupted. Eleven have been sentenced to death, and two have already been executed.
Meanwhile, reformist newspapers reported that Iran has released two teenagers arrested on suspicion of taking part in the protests.
Amir Hossein Rahimi, 15, and Sonia Sharifi, 17, were both released on Thursday after almost two months in custody, the Etemad and Ham Mihan dailies reported.
Protest-hit Iran arrests lawyer of detained journalists
https://arab.news/pg8yc
Protest-hit Iran arrests lawyer of detained journalists
- Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi has been detained without any legal formalities, his lawyer says
Israel says ban on Gaza media access should stay: court document
- Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons
JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military forces inside the blockaded territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking immediate and unrestricted access for international media to the Gaza Strip.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with a plan, but at a hearing last month it set January 4 as a final deadline.
Late on Sunday, the Israeli authorities filed their response with the court, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
In the submission, the government said the ban on media access to Gaza should continue, citing security risks in the territory.
“Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted,” said the government submission.
“This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists.”
The Israeli authorities said the ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10, continues to face regular threats.
At least 420 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli military said three of its soldiers have also been killed by militants during the same period.
The Israeli authorities said in their submission that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza is ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists into the territory at this stage could hinder the operation.
The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire.
All other 250 hostages seized on that day — both the living and the deceased — have been returned to Israel.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
