In the midst of a political crisis, when armed police and militia roam the streets looking for targets, it takes unbelievable bravery to take on the responsibility of telling the world what is happening to your country. This is what a dozen contributors to Demotix decided to do this week in Iran, where the government has cracked down violently on protest and free speech.

On Saturday evening, when the crisis was coming to a head, the trickle of information reaching the mainstream media from their traditional sources stopped. Slowly, email by email, our correspondents sent descriptions and images of the running street battles in Tehran. Their work was used by the Guardian, the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Telegraph and El Pais.

The personal risk that these reporters faced was great.

One contributor wrote to us following his arrest on Tuesday 16 June. “Tonight I was detained by police, and they get my camera, and my id-card, and my car, and then released me”, he said. “They will judge me as I'm a spy, and maybe they are going to execute me.” Demotix remains in regular contact with the photographer.

Demotix learnt last week that another contributor had been arrested on Saturday night. His sister said, “On Saturday, until now, he has not come back home. He and many others are in detention. Pray for his release.” Demotix is working with Amnesty International to assist with his release.

Arrest by the Revolutionary Guard was not the only danger; perhaps more serious was the threat of random attacks by counter-protesters and the Basij militia. A Demotix photographer, using the alias ‘Shotshutter’, uploaded photographs of his own injuries caused by the Basij to draw attention to their actions.

Saturday night, the threat to journalists became too great. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s prohibition of protests on Friday 19 June prompted an escalation in the presence of police and militia on the streets in Iran. Basij dressed in black swarmed around on motorbikes, searching for protestors.

One correspondent wrote, “Today it was a nightmare. Photography was totally impossible. I saw killing of a man by my own eyes. Today they fired on us.”

Another said, “I saw two young protesters who were killed. The ambulance didn’t take them to hospital.”

Fears grew that the regime was able to intercept emails. Believing he was being tracked, one photographer requested for his photos to be temporarily removed from the site and his emails to be deleted. However, he remained determined to tell his story, and asked Demotix to continue licensing his images anonymously.

The dedication of this small group of citizen-journalists has not gone unnoticed. The Demotix website has been flooded with messages of support. Their work has been reported internationally by the media, including Canada, China, the USA, UK, France, New Zealand, India and Spain. Tens of thousands of people have seen their images on Demotix, and millions more through the news organizations that have licensed their work.