Paris: Iranian authorities have arrested 24 journalists and bloggers since post-election protests began a week ago, and a media watchdog says reporters are a "priority target" for Iran's leadership.
Among those detained were the head of the Association of Iranian Journalists and a Canadian reporter for Newsweek. The BBC's correspondent has been ordered to leave the country.
"It's becoming more and more problematic for journalists," said Benoit Hervieu of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, also known by its French acronym RSF.
The group released the names of 23 Iranian journalists, editors and bloggers arrested since June 14, and says it has lost contact with several others believed detained or in hiding. Hervieu said RSF verified each arrest via its network of reporters and activists in Iran.
Newsweek said in a statement later that its correspondent Maziar Bahari, a Canadian citizen, was detained without charge on Monday morning and has not been heard from since. Newsweek defended his coverage of Iran as "fair and nuanced" and called for his release.
In most cases, the reasons behind the detentions remain unclear.
Iran's authorities have long kept a close eye on local and international media operating in the country, and clamped down as protests engulfed Tehran last week over the June 12 presidential election, the biggest challenge to the cleric-led government in 30 years. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner, but supporters of reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi say fraud was widespread.
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