Iranian journalist Nazila Maroofian, 23, was arrested again on Wednesday, August 30, this time at her home in Tehran, IranWire reported.

The arrest was carried out by a group of security agents who violently entered her home and broke down the door. According to accounts from neighbors, security forces also subjected Maroofian to a severe beating during the arrest. 

The reasons for her arrest are still unclear, but it is believed to be related to her work as a journalist.

Maroofian has been a vocal critic of the Iranian government and has written extensively about human rights abuses in the country. 

She was previously arrested in 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. Maroofian had interviewed Amini's father and her reporting on the case led to her arrest.

In recent months, Maroofian has also written about cases of sexual assault on female inmates in Iran. Her reporting on this issue has led to her being targeted by the government.

The arrest of Maroofian is the latest in a series of crackdowns on journalists and activists in Iran. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a media freedom NGO, Iranian authorities have arrested at least 95 journalists since September 2022, when the death in morality police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini sparked nationwide protests.

Background

Nazila Maroofian studies at Tehran's Allameh Tabatabai University and currently works for the independent media platform Rouydad 24. She is originally from Saqiz in Eastern Kurdistan, the hometown of Jina Mahsa Amini. The violent death of the 22-year-old in the custody of Iran's moral police last September sparked the "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" [Woman, Life, Freedom] revolution - the largest wave of protests the Islamic Republic of Iran has seen since its founding in 1979.

On 19 October, Maroofian published an interview with Amini's father, Amjad, on the website Mostaghel. In it, Amjad Amini rejected the official information that his daughter's death was caused by an illness.

The title of the interview, which was removed shortly after publication, was clear: "Mahsa Amini's father: 'You are lying!'" A few days later, Maroofian was arrested in Tehran and taken to Evin prison for the first time. There she was subjected to threats during interrogations and psychological torture. She was put in an isolation cell and suffered two mild heart attacks right at the beginning of her imprisonment.

Finally, at the end of January, Maroofian was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended to five years' probation, for "propaganda against the regime" and "publishing lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion".

The Revolutionary Court in Tehran also imposed a fine and a five-year ban on leaving the country. At the time, Maroofian had already been released on bail for 600 million toman. In June, just weeks before she was arrested again, she was beaten by "security forces" in Tehran and barred from public service for disobeying the regime's dress code, as she did not wear a hijab.