According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), one of those arrested is the Tehran bureau chief of Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Shinnosuke Kawashima.
Kawashima was arrested on Jan 20 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and held at a detention facility in northern Tehran, the CPJ said on Feb 26, citing a source who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The CPJ and Radio Free Europe both reported that Kawashima was transferred to on Feb 23 to Evin Prison, where political prisoners are usually incarcerated.
The CPJ’s source also said that NHK’s longtime videographer Mehdi Mohammedi’s passport was confiscated, along with his personal devices, including his phone, laptop, and camera.
Another NHK staff member – whose identity CPJ said it was withholding for safety reasons – fled Iran in early February after being summoned several times, CPJ said in a statement.
“The arrest of Shinnosuke Kawashima and the intimidation of his colleagues reflects a deliberate effort by Iranian authorities to silence independent reporting,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.
The reported arrest followed a wave of major protests in Iran in December and January, met by a violent government crackdown that rights groups said left thousands of people dead.
This was before the United States and Israeli militaries began Operation Epic Fury on Feb 28 and killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.