Suppression of freedom of expression continues in Iran; Member of the Iranian Writers' Association sentenced to long prison term

Arash Ganji, translator and secretary of the Board of Secretaries of the Iranian Writers' Association, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Nasser Zarafshan, Arash Ganji's defense attorney, told VOA about the verdict that the charges in his client's case have no connection to the content of the case.

According to Mr. Zarafshan, Mr. Ganji's 11-year prison sentence was issued on Tuesday, January 28, by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Amuzad, on charges of "gathering and colluding against the country's internal/external security," "propaganda against the regime," and "membership and cooperation with a group opposed to the regime," and was announced on Wednesday, January 10.

Mr. Zarafshan said that this verdict is not final and that it will be appealed in the coming days. He added that if the verdict is reaffirmed and based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the aggregation of sentences, five years of the issued sentence will be implemented as the maximum punishment.

The lawyer for this member of the Iranian Writers' Association told VOA: "These charges have been attributed to my client while his case has no other defendants, and the charge of association and collusion cannot be attributed to one person under any circumstances, because the text of the law clearly states that the requirement for association is two or more people."

The lawyer went on to say that the evidence for the charges is the translation of a book about Rojava and sympathy for the Kurdish people's movement in Syria. Mr. Zarafshan added: "People sympathized with the Kurdish people's movement in Syria at a time when Kurdish movements were fighting ISIS, and simply sympathizing with a movement cannot lead to the accusation of membership and cooperation with one of the groups opposing the regime."

Mr. Zarafshan says that the three charges brought against his client have no connection to the content of the case and that no attention was paid to this issue during the court session held on Monday, January 29. He said: “Logic and law do not prevail in Iranian courts, and what the bailiffs who prepare the case dictate is considered a verdict in these courts.”

The lawyer told VOA that Arash Ganji, who was arrested on January 2, 2019, was temporarily released from Evin Prison after four weeks on bail of 450 million Tomans until the end of the trial.

Mr. Ganji’s first court hearing was held on June 15, presided over by Judge Moghiseh. At that hearing, his bail was increased to 3 billion Tomans, an increase that led to his re-arrest and return to Evin Prison. This member of the Iranian Writers’ Association was finally released from Evin Prison on June 11, after posting bail once again, temporarily pending the completion of the trial.

This is not the first time that members of the Iranian Writers' Association have been arrested and sentenced to long sentences. Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Bektash Abtin, and Keyvan Bajan, three other members of the association, are also in prison.