Iranian paper says journalist, activists detained at protest

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian newspaper says one of its reporters was detained by police earlier this week while she was covering a protest marking International Workers’ Day, in which dozens of labour activists were also arrested.

The pro-reform Shargh newspaper said Saturday that Marzieh Amiri was detained at a demonstration outside the Iranian parliament in Tehran. It said authorities detained some 30 protesting workers including two workers’ leaders, Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi.

The semi-official Mehr news agency reports the detainees will be released soon, citing general prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

Over the past two years, Iran has seen occasional protests over its worsening economy. In 2018, the Trump administration re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran after pulling out from 2015 nuclear deal.

Nationwide protests in 2017 led to 25 deaths.