Iranian Journalist Arrested, Another Summoned Amid Media Crackdown

Iranian authorities have summoned journalist and photographer Aliya Matlabzadeh and arrested the editor of Qom News website, Ali Portabatabaei.

The development comes amid a brutal crackdown by the authorities on five months of nationwide protests in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others were illegally detained, including dozens of journalists.

Some of the journalists have been released, while others have been summoned or threatened and had their electronic equipment seized.

Matlabzadeh was arrested in April 2022 during a raid on the house of prominent women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi. She was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "gathering and colluding against the country's security" and "propaganda against the system."

She was released from custody last month.

"25 days have passed since I was released, and during this time I received two notices to appear at the Evin courthouse...They have set five days to hand myself over," Matlabzadeh said on March 5.

She did not provide further details.

In the central city of Qom, the security forces arrested Portabatabaei, who has covered the poisoning of hundreds of students at Iranian schools over the past three months.

No explanation was given for his arrest.