Journalist Sahar Bayati, former ICORN resident in Haugesund, has died
Iranian journalist, politician, and former ICORN resident in Haugesund, Sahar Bayati passed away on Saturday, 7 March 2026. The ICORN network will remember Sahar as a warm person and a committed journalist. We send our condolences to her family and friends in Norway and in Iran.
Sahar Bayati had nearly 20 years of experience as a journalist, interpreter, and news editor. In Iran, she worked for several media outlets, including the newspapers Kargozaran, Hamshahri, and Tehran Emrooz, as well as the news agencies Daypress and AFTAB News Agency.
Because of her reporting on Iranian politics and society, Sahar was banned from working as a journalist. She was also sentenced to three years in prison on charges of defamation and libel, though the sentence was later suspended on appeal.
Due to persecution, she fled to Malaysia in 2011, where she continued to work as a freelance journalist and experienced transnational threats and pressure because of her reporting. In 2014, Sahar arrived in Haugesund for a two-year ICORN residency.
Sahar remained an active journalist, an engaged local politician, and an important part of the community in Haugesund until her death.
