Iranian security forces have arrested a journalist after he published an interview with Mercer Amini’s father. His death sparked seven weeks of anti-regime protests, rights groups said Friday.
Tehran-based journalist Nazira Marfian, from Saqez in Amini’s hometown of Kurdistan, was detained on Sunday, the Norway-based Hengo rights group said.
She was arrested at a relative’s house in Tehran and transferred to the capital’s Evin prison, he added, citing a phone call she made to her family.
Maroufian, who works for the Ruydad 24 news site, published an interview with Amini’s father Amjad on the Mostaghel Online news site on October 19.
“I have no intention of committing suicide and I have no underlying medical conditions,” she commented sarcastically, posting a link to the article and hinting at the dangers faced by Iranian journalists reporting the story.
read more: Iranian female journalist who broke news of Mercer Amini’s death branded CIA agent
She also said her family had been threatened by not being able to publish the interview for several days.
Mostahel has since deleted the piece, but a cached version shows that the father denied that his daughter had an underlying medical condition.
Amini’s family alleges she was fatally shot while in police custody. Iranian authorities dispute this, but anger over her death has sparked a wave of protests.
Amjad Amini said he was told by health officials that the final report would read, “Whatever I like, it’s none of your business.”
The headline of the interview read, “Martha Amini’s father: ‘They are lying!'”
Two Iranian journalists who helped bring Amini’s story to the world’s attention have already been arrested and spent the last month in Evin prison.
Niloufar Hamedi reported to Iran’s Shargh newspaper from the hospital where Amini fell into a coma for three days before she died. The journalist was arrested on Sept. 20, her family said.
Ham Mihan newspaper reporter Elahe Mohammadi went to Saqez to report on Amini’s funeral, one of the first protests. She was detained on her September 29th.
According to the New York-based Commission to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 54 journalists have been arrested in the crackdown and 12 have been confirmed released on bail so far.
