Iranian photographer destined for World Cup vanishes after being arrested

Iranian photojournalist Arya Jafari has not joined the media pack at the World Cup in Qatar after being arrested (Picture: Journalism is Not a Crime/File image)

An Iranian photojournalist who was due to follow his ‘dream’ of working at a World Cup is reported to have been arrested and imprisoned in his home nation.      

Arya Jafari may have been detained in order to stop pictures of protests which followed a young woman’s death in custody from being shared and released internationally.   

News of his arrest amid a draconian crackdown on dissent by the country’s hardline clerical rulers was originally shared on Instagram by his friend and colleague, Amir Hosseini.    

The reason for the 34-year-old’s arrest is unclear but he was previously detained after protests in 2014 which were triggered by a spate of acid attacks against women.

The former Iranian national kayaker had retweeted a picture of a protest on the streets of Iran in his last post on the platform.

Saman Javadi, who runs social media channels dedicated to the Iranian football team, told Metro.co.uk that Mr Jafari was a professional photographer who had previously competed in slalom.     

Mr Javadi, who lives in Italy, said: ‘He was supposed to work for the first time at a FIFA World Cup, as his friend and colleague Amir Hosseini has said on Instagram. He was arrested a few days after the death of Mahsa Amini, following the protests in the streets.

‘Personally, I don’t know the reason of his arrest, but he was previously arrested in 2014 during other protests in Iran.

Arya Jafari was arrested in 2014 for covering protests after acid attacks on Iranian women (Picture: Journalism is Not a Crime)

‘It probably happened to prevent him from doing his work professionally; reporting the protests means that his pictures would be published outside of Iran. Have you seen video or pictures of protests from any reporter?

‘No, unfortunately they have only been from social media so it’s very difficult to verify the source. Fact-checking is missing from the current protests in Iran, since journalists are not allowed to cover these events.’

On Instagram, Mr Hosseini described how the photojournalist had contacted him with ‘good news’, which turned out to be that he was due to travel to Qatar in time for the opening ceremony.

He wrote: ‘The good news was that after all these years of photography and effort, he was going to achieve his dream and go to the World Cup as a photographer. I was happy with all my heart that he was finally going to get what he deserves.’    

Iran supporters wave a national flag bearing the words ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ during the World Cup clash against England (Picture: Fadel Senna/AFP)

Mr Jafari’s Instagram page suggests that he had turned his focus to Iranian football ahead of the World Cup. On Twitter, his last activity was to retweet other users’ pictures showing protests on the streets of Iran, the most recent of which was dated September 21.

Mr Hosseini said his friend ‘could have remained silent’ and been at the FIFA games in the wealthy emirate, where Iran lost 6-2 to England in the Khalifa International Stadium today.

Mr Hosseini added: ‘He could have easily been in Qatar at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, like all the photographers in the world, recording the most important sports event in the world.     

‘But he gave up the World Cup to be with the people of his country.’ 

The Journalism is Not a Crime human rights group said that Mr Jafari was arrested at his home on September 25 amid protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. She is said to have fallen into a coma while being detained by Iran’s morality police. Mr Jafari, from the central city of Isfahan, is described as being ‘in prison’ on ‘unknown’ charges by the group.

Iran’s players did not sing the national anthem before their World Cup game with England (Picture: Marko Djurica/Reuters)

The 22-year-old’s death for failing to wear her hijab properly sparked unprecedented protests across the country, with many women joining rallies despite an often violent response from the police. 

Weeks of demonstrations led to 32 journalists being arrested as of November 10, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

On its website, Journalism is Not a Crime said: ‘Arya Jafari is a veteran photojournalist and sports reporter.

‘He is a member of the Iranian Photojournalist Association which has announced that people close to Jafari have had no news of him and the reason for his arrest is unknown.’

In the stands at the Khalifa International Stadium, demonstrators were pictured holding up banners calling for ‘freedom’ for women in Iran.    

Outside, some were pictured showing a scissors gesture in a show of defiance against Iran’s rulers as part of the ongoing movement. 

Mahsa Amini died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for not wearing a hijab correctly (Picture: Newsflash)

The sign, said by activists to be an ancient Persian symbol of defiance, was used by Iranian striker Saeed Piramoun when his team won the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup in Dubai on November 6.

In a powerful show of solidarity with people opposed to the ruling regime in their homeland, the Iranian team stood silent for the national anthem before kick-off today. Some of their fans were shown in tears in the stands.

Several players also defied possible repercussions from the country’s rulers to speak out before the game.   

Iranians protest in Tehran after the death of Mahsa Amini while she was detained by the morality police (Picture obtained by AP outside Iran)

Bayer Leverkusen striker Sardar Azmoun wrote: ‘At worst I’ll be dismissed from the national team. 

‘No problem. I’d sacrifice that for one hair on the heads of Iranian women.  

‘This story will not be deleted. They can do whatever they want.  

‘Shame on you for killing so easily; long live Iranian women.’  

Metro.co.uk has attempted to contact FIFA and the Iranian government for comment.   

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Arya Jafari is said to have been arrested after covering protests triggered by the death of a woman in custody.