Iran: 2 photographers arrested as news trickles out under internet shutdown

New York, January 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release photojournalists Artin Ghazanfari and Hamed Araghi, as news of their detention emerged weeks after a nationwide internet shutdown began on January 8. 

CPJ was unable to confirm the charges against the journalists or their current whereabouts.

“The detention of Artin Ghazanfari and Hamed Araghi for unknown reasons shows how Iranian authorities are exploiting a prolonged information blackout to target the media,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Iran must immediately disclose where these journalists are being held and the legal basis for their detention.”

Iran is experiencing the bloodiest crackdown since the 1979 revolution, after December 28 demonstrations over economic grievances expanded into nationwide protests. 

On January 18, freelance photojournalist Ghazanfari was detained by security forces, who also confiscated his electronic equipment and books, at his home in the capital Tehran.

Ghazanfari was previously arrested in 2009, along with nine other Bahá’í, and served a one-year jail term, according to the U.K.-based Iran International. 

Human rights groups say the Bahá’í, who are banned from practising their religion in Iran, face systematic persecution, discrimination and arbitrary detention. On January 16, Bahá’í photographer Navid Zarrehbin Irani was also detained.

On January 9, Araghi, a sports photojournalist, was arrested by security forces in the northern city of Karaj.

CPJ has been unable to contact the journalists’ families or colleagues. Both their Instagram accounts have been deactivated. 

On January 25, the Ministry of Communications denied plans to restore internet access, contradicting a report by Fars News Agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The death toll has been impossible to verify due to the communications shutdown, with estimates ranging from 3,000 to 30,000. But images and witness reports have emerged sporadically through Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service and overseas networks. 

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 6,126 people have been killed and more than 41,800 arrested. The group verifies each death with activists on the ground. 

CPJ’s email to the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York requesting comment did not receive a response.