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November 12, 2025 – Iran –
Three Iranian journalists have been arrested after covering the case of 20-year-old university student Ahmad Baledi, who died following a self-immolation protest in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. The arrests come in the wake of the demolition of his family’s kiosk by municipal agents and police officers on November 2, 2025.
According to reporting by IranWire, the journalists—identified as Hassan Salamat, Javad Saedi, and Seyed Sadegh Alboshokeh—were detained after documenting Baledi’s critical condition in the hospital and the broader protests triggered by his act. The three were reportedly held without clear charges and were barred from communicating freely with family or covering the story.
The incident began when Baledi’s family kiosk in Zeitoon Park was demolished by municipal workers accompanied by police without warning. Witnesses say the detached operation provoked Baledi to douse himself with petrol and ignite his body, sustaining fatal injuries. He succumbed to burns covering approximately 70 per cent of his body at Taleghani Hospital. In response to mounting public anger, the provincial prosecutor issued a statement warning against “exploiting emotional issues and tragic incidents” for social unrest.
Observers say the arrests of the journalists reflect a broader pattern of repression in Iran, where media professionals covering dissent, economic injustice, or ethnically-charged disturbances risk detention, censorship, or worse. The case is particularly sensitive given Ahvaz’s ethnic-Arab population and recurring accusations of discriminatory treatment by authorities.
Press-freedom advocates are calling on Iranian authorities to immediately release the journalists, drop any unlawful charges, and ensure that coverage of the case proceeds unhindered. They emphasise that detaining journalists for documenting a protest of state action undermines the public’s right to information, sets a chilling precedent, and raises serious concerns about the shrinking space for independent journalism under crisis.
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