Iran arrested a journalist for covering Afghan refugee situation

An Iranian human rights organization reported on Friday that security forces arrested a journalist for covering the situation of Afghan refugees in the border region with Turkey.

Human rights organization Hrana reports that on 25 August, journalist and photographer Majid Saeedi traveled to Khoy in the western province of Azerbaijan near the Turkish border and was arrested while filming Afghan refugees in the area.

Hrana also revealed the arrest of an Iranian reporter working for the reformist newspaper ”Shargh”, in conjunction with the arrest of photographer Majid Saeedi.

Press reports indicated that hundreds of Afghan refugees were waiting to enter Turkey in the Iran-Turkey border area.

Iranian news sites reported that Majid Saeedi was arrested for being in a restricted area.

Majid Saeedi (47 years old), has worked in photojournalism since 1990 and won numerous awards in Iran and abroad.

Saeedi lived in Afghanistan for several years after 2010, and his book “Life in War”, a collection of photographs relating to the lives of the Afghan people, received an award at the Lucas Mabrouk Doliga Festival.