Kurdish journalist Fardin Mostafaei, the administrator of the Telegram channel Saqqez Rudaw and a member of the International Federation of Journalists, has been arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence in the city of Saqqez, Kurdistan Province.
Mostafaei’s location remains unknown, and authorities have not disclosed the reasons for his arrest.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that security forces detained Mostafaei at a café in Saqqez on 18 September, without a warrant.
This is not the first time Mostafaei has faced scrutiny from Iranian authorities. In November 2023, he and Nasser Karimi, the administrator of another Telegram channel Dangi Shar, were summoned by the Saqqez Cyber Police following a complaint filed by the city’s governor.
Both were interrogated over allegations of “spreading falsehoods and disturbing public mind”.