New York, September 28, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to overturn the convictions of two
journalists
sentenced on September 27, drop a new prosecution against a magazine editor, and immediately release veteran photojournalist Majid Saeedi, whose whereabouts remain unknown nearly three weeks after his arrest.
“The latest convictions and prosecutions show how Iranian authorities continue to weaponise the judicial system to silence critical reporting and commentary, while journalists like Majid Saeedi remain detained without any information about their fate,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director. “Authorities must overturn these convictions, drop cases targeting journalists for their work, disclose the whereabouts of those detained and immediately release them.”
On September 27, Tehran’s Criminal Court One
sentenced
journalist and political analyst
Abbas Abdi
to
one year in prison
and ordered the
daily newspaper Etemad
to suspend publication and other activities for two months.
Abdi told CPJ that the case stemmed from his May 6, 2026, column that
criticized
false and unverifiable reporting, unequal access to information, and statements by hard-line figures during the war. In July, a political and press jury
found Abdi and the newspaper guilty
, citing in part his criticism of decisions imposed “from the street by a privileged minority.” Abdi said the prosecutor’s office was the complainant, and that he and Etemad had sought a review by Iran’s Supreme Court, where the case remains pending.
The same day, a court fined
Siamak Rahmani
, the editor-in-chief of the
Bartarinha website
,
80 million toman
(about US$582), after convicting him of “propaganda against the state.” The ruling can be appealed. The case stems from a March 25 complaint filed by a judicial official over alleged “criminal content” on Rahmani’s personal Instagram account.
CPJ documented at the time
that the complaint followed an
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