Three Hundred Days of Niloufar Hamedi's Detention; U.S. Reaction to the Arbitrary Arrest of Journalists in Iran

The U.S. ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, coinciding with the three hundredth day of Niloufar Hamedi's detention, called for the release of this journalist from Shargh newspaper, Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist from Ham-Mihan newspaper, and all journalists imprisoned for covering the death of Mahsa Amini. The Persian Twitter account of the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday, July 19, shared a tweet from Tuesday by Michelle Taylor, the U.S. ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, demanding the release of other journalists who have been 'unjustly' imprisoned for 'reporting on the murder of Mahsa Amini' in Iran. The U.S. Department of State noted that '300 days have passed since the arbitrary detention of journalist Niloufar Hamedi by the Iranian regime for exposing the story of Mahsa Amini' and emphasized that Iran must release Niloufar Hamedi, Elahe Mohammadi, and all journalists who have been unjustly detained for covering Mahsa's murder. Ms. Hamedi and Ms. Mohammadi were among the journalists who were arrested by the security agencies of the Islamic Republic at the beginning of the nationwide protests in Iran for reporting on the circumstances of Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of the morality police and her funeral. Previously, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, reported to the UN Human Rights Council that from August 1, 2022, to April 15, 2023, over 70 journalists, including 25 women, have been arrested in Iran, and 16 journalists are still in prison. According to him, some of these detained journalists have received sentences ranging from 12 to 18 months in prison, have been banned from leaving the country, and have had their journalistic activities revoked.