At least 30 Iranian journalists still in jail over Mahsa Amini protests

Among those detained are Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi who helped to expose the woman's death in custody

At least 30 Iranian journalists are still in jail in connection with protests linked to the death of Mahsa Amini, the Tehran journalists' association has said.

Iran has been gripped by about four months of demonstrations triggered by the September 16 death of Ms Amini, 22, in custody after she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of breaching Iran's dress code for women.

“Around 70 journalists” have been detained since mid-September, the association said on Wednesday.

Some have been released on bail while “30 journalists taken in for questioning are still detained”, it said on its Telegram messaging app channel where it published a list of those currently jailed.

Among those on the list are the two Iranian journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who broke the story of Ms Amini's death in custody.

“Since the start of the protests, a large number of journalists have also been summoned [by the authorities],” the association said.

The latest to be sentenced was sports journalist Ehsan Pirbornash, the reformist newspaper Hammihan said on Wednesday.

It did not specify the charges against him but said he had been given an 18-year sentence and ordered to serve at least 10 years in prison.

In late October, more than 300 Iranian journalists and photojournalists signed a statement criticising the authorities for “arresting colleagues and stripping them of their civil rights after their detentions”, local media said at the time.

Iranian authorities say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested during the protests, which they mostly describe as “riots”.