The continued detention and uncertainty of poet Amin Moradi, imprisoned in Evin Prison

Nasser Zarafshan, lawyer for the Iranian Writers' Association: We should have waited for stereotypical accusations to be made against Amin Moradi

On Saturday, December 29, 2020, the Iranian Writers' Association announced that one of its members, Amin Moradi, had been arrested at his home and sent to Evin Prison.

According to this news, officers searched Amin Moradi's house and confiscated some of his personal belongings, including two laptops, a computer, a cell phone, and a number of books.

The Iranian Writers' Association had stated that it was concerned about Moradi's health. Amin Moradi suffers from "lumbar disc" and "lung disease." The Iranian Writers' Association has called for the poet's immediate release.

Four days after his arrest, there has been no news from the judicial authorities about the progress of the case and the reason for the arrest of this poet and member of the Writers' Association. Nasser Zarafshan, a lawyer for the Writers' Association of Iran, told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, referring to Amin Moradi's arrest and the fact that there is no precise information about the status of Amin Moradi's case to this day: "There is a high probability that Amin Moradi will soon face some stereotypical charges such as gathering with the intention of disrupting national security."

According to Nasser Zarafshan, in such cases, which are called "security cases" by judicial authorities, there is no "material element of the crime" that can be used to give the case a criminal form, so in such cases, judicial authorities, based on the personal "taste" and the so-called "pleasantness" of the decision-making authority, bring stereotypical accusations against the detainee.

The lawyer for the Iranian Writers' Association told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, "One of the stereotypical accusations that is very common these days is Article 609, which refers to gathering and collusion with the intention of disrupting the system, which was applied to my other client, Mr. Arash Ganji, another member of the Writers' Association."

The hearing of the case of Arash Ganji, translator and secretary of the Board of Secretaries of the Iranian Writers' Association, was held on Sunday at the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, with Nasser Zarafshan present. According to Mr. Zarafshan, during this hearing, the court had asked the judicial officers to appear in court to respond to our objections regarding the case documents.

Nasser Zarafshan told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “Some of the headlines raised in the indictment were untrue and had no documentation. We had requested that the judicial officers who filed the case come to court and explain what their documentation was, but the officers did not attend the hearing. In addition, Mr. Ganji was suffering from a cold and did not come to court as a precaution.”

According to Nasser Zarafshan, the charge of "gathering with the intent to disrupt national security" is meaningless for my client because, based on the charge itself, it must have been "gathered," but what common sense can say that he gathered alone?

Arash Ganji, a member of the Iranian Writers' Association, was arrested at his home on January 1, 2019, and was eventually transferred to Evin Prison. On January 19, 2019, Mr. Ganji was released from Evin Prison after posting bail of 450 million Tomans pending the outcome of the trial. The first court hearing on Mr. Ganji's charges was held on Sunday, June 15, 2019, and after the judge ordered an increase in bail, which was not provided, Arash Ganji was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison. Arash Ganji was eventually released from Evin Prison on June 21, 2020, after posting bail.

In recent months, pressure on members of the Writers' Association from the security and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic has increased. The Writers' Association of Iran announced in a statement on Saturday, October 25, that the prison sentences of three members of the association have been implemented. Reza Khandan (Mahabadi), Bektash Abtin, and Keyvan Bajan are three members of the Writers' Association who were previously sentenced to six years in prison each by Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Moghiseh.

The authors were charged in court with "publishing the internal newsletter of the Writers' Association," "preparing a research book about the fifty-year history of the Writers' Association," and "attending the graves of the victims of the serial political murders of Jafar Poyandeh and Mohammad Mokhtari and participating in the annual ceremony of Ahmad Shamloo."

Last year, the World PEN Association expressed its “deep concern” over the sentences issued against Reza Khandan (Mahabadi), Bektash Abtin, and Keyvan Bajan in a statement. More than 900 writers, translators, and poets also wrote a letter to executive and judicial authorities calling the sentences issued to the three members of the Writers’ Association “unjust” and “a heavy blow to the fundamental rights of the individual Iranian people.”

Nasser Zarafshan, a lawyer for the Iranian Writers' Association, had previously told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, referring to the attacks on writers and poets in other cities in Iran who do not necessarily have union or institutional activities, that "writers and intellectuals have always written against censorship and defended freedom of expression, and it has always been those in power who have always practiced censorship and rushed to attack writers, but the severity of this is unprecedented in the current era."

The Iranian Writers' Association is one of the most important independent and deeply rooted institutions in Iran, which has continued its activities for many years despite all the pressures.

Source: Human Rights Campaign