Statement by Iran Writers Association on Three Imprisoned Writers: Security and Judicial Officials Want to Send Protesters and Opponents to Slaughter
The Iran Writers Association has issued a statement demanding the unconditional release of three members of the association named Reza Khandan, Baktash Abtin, and Keyvan Bajan.
The Iran Writers Association released its statement on Monday, September 28th, referring to the “increased pressure on independent writers” and the government’s resort to “increasing suppression of freedom of expression, arrest, torture, and execution of protesters.” The association stated that it considers the implementation of these sentences “a criminal act and a violation of human rights standards” and condemned them.
The statement was released after three members of the Iran Writers Association—Reza Khandan, Baktash Abtin, and Keyvan Bajan—were transferred to Evin Prison on Saturday, September 26th to carry out their sentences.
Part of the statement reads: “At a time when a new wave of coronavirus is claiming hundreds of lives daily in the country, and the lack of health and medical facilities in prisons could have catastrophic consequences, imprisoning these three writers and other political and ideological detainees means nothing but that security and judicial officials want to send protesters and opponents to slaughter.”
The Iran Writers Association also cited “membership” in the association and “defense of freedom of thought and expression” as the reason for issuing prison sentences for these three writers, describing this as “evidence of increased pressure on independent writers.”
The statement reads: “Now that the country is facing poverty, disease, and organized corruption, instead of responding to the legitimate demands of the people, the government has resorted to increasing suppression of freedom of expression, arrest, torture, and execution of protesters.”
The Iran Writers Association further described the implementation of the sentences issued against these three writers as “a criminal act and a violation of human rights standards” and condemned it. The statement also called for the immediate cessation of the prison sentences and the unconditional release of these three writers and members of the Iran Writers Association.
The plaintiff in the case of these three individuals is the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic. Their case was opened in May 2015, and since then they have been summoned repeatedly for interrogation on two charges: “propaganda against the system” and “publishing an illegal publication.”
However, in December of last year, the sentences of these writers were upheld in an appeals court, and based on that, Reza Khandan (Mahabadi) and Baktash Abtin were each sentenced to six years in prison, and Keyvan Bajan to three years and six months in prison.
Previously, Baktash Abtin responded on Tuesday, May 21st to the 18-year prison sentence for himself and two other members of the Iran Writers Association by releasing a video.
Last year, Amnesty International described 2018 as a “year of shame” for the Islamic Republic in a report and announced that more than seven thousand people—including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists—were arrested in Iran that year.
Source: Voice of America
