Iran detains Iraqi Kurdish reporter and crew covering cultural festival

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, December 9, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release Iraqi Kurdish reporter Omer Ahmed and his crew, who were arrested on December 3 in the city of Sardasht in West Azerbaijan province while covering a cultural festival.

“The arrest of Omer Ahmed and his crew shows how Iranian authorities continue to pressure the press,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Journalists must be allowed to work without fear, and these detentions must end immediately.”

Ahmed, known to his audience as Rasooka, works for AVA Media, an outlet affiliated with the  Kurdistan Democratic Party, which rules the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Two officials from AVA Media, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said Ahmed and his crew entered Iran on December 3 with valid permits to cover the Kurdish cultural Beyt and Heyran festival, which celebrates Kurdish folk music. 

“They were arrested by the intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Sardasht and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Urmia,” one source at the outlet said.

“They were charged with unlicensed coverage of the festival, which is not true. We have been informed that they were sentenced to nine days’ imprisonment, and we are waiting for their release soon,” the source added.

The team includes a program producer, a camera operator and an Iranian Kurdish fixer. According to their colleagues, the crew had previously traveled to Iran twice in November to cover similar festivals without incident. AVA media published footage shot at the festival prior to the team’s arrest.

CPJ emailed the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York for comment but did not receive a response.