The Guidance Patrol, a part of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces, has arrested at least 41 journalists for covering the mass protest that followed the murder of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, for wearing hijab improperly.

Ms Amini was arrested in September but died three days later in the ICU of a hospital in Tehran. While the police denied physically assaulting her, hospital records and scans showed she was severely beaten, wounded and died of intracerebral haemorrhage. 

Iran has violently suppressed the protests by cracking down on journalists, firing shots into crowds of protesters killing more than 200 citizens since the protests began. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed worry about the journalists in jail even though some have been released. 

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also said it is worried for colleagues held in the Tehran prison, especially since they were unaccounted for after a fire outbreak in the prison facility. 

“We are very concerned about the fate of our colleagues in Evin and remind the Iranian authorities that they are responsible for the lives of journalists in prison,” Anthony Bellanger, secretary of the IFJ, said in a statement.

Mr Bellanger called for the “release of all journalists who are unfairly detained in Evin and other prisons in Iran for doing their job.”

According to RSF’s Press Freedom Index, Iran presently ranks 178th out of 180 nations, with 1 having the best media environment. 

The international human rights community has urged the UN Human Rights Council to act quickly with regard to Iran.