Continued Suppression of Freedom of Speech in Iran; Member of Iranian Writers Association Sentenced to Long-Term Imprisonment

Arash Ganji, translator and secretary of the board of directors of the Iranian Writers Association, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Nasser Zarafshan, Arash Ganji’s defense lawyer, told Voice of America regarding the issued verdict that the charges listed in his client’s case have no relation to the substance of the case.

According to Mr. Zarafshan, the 11-year prison sentence for Mr. Ganji was issued on Tuesday, December 30th, by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court under the presidency of Judge Mohammad Reza Amouzad, on charges of “assembly and conspiracy against the country’s domestic/foreign security,” “propaganda against the system,” and “membership and cooperation with one of the groups opposed to the system,” and was notified on Wednesday, December 31st.

Mr. Zarafshan stated that this verdict is not final and will be appealed in the coming days while filing an objection to it. He added that if the verdict is confirmed again and based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the consolidation of sentences, five years of the issued sentence will be enforced as the most severe punishment.

The lawyer of this member of the Iranian Writers Association told Voice of America: “These charges have been attributed to my client even though his case has no other defendant, and it is by no means possible to attribute the charge of assembly and conspiracy to one person, because it is explicitly stated in the law that assembly requires two or more people.”

This lawyer continued by saying that the manifestation of the charges listed is the translation of a book related to Rojava and solidarity with the Kurdish people’s movement in Syria. Mr. Zarafshan added: “At a time when Kurdish movements were fighting ISIS, people showed solidarity with the Kurdish people’s movement in Syria, and solely for showing solidarity with a movement, one cannot be charged with membership and cooperation with one of the groups opposed to the system.”

Mr. Zarafshan says that the three charges brought against his client have no relation to the substance of the case, and in the court session held on Monday, December 29th, no attention was paid to this matter. He said: “Logic and law do not govern Iranian courts, and whatever the investigators who formed the case dictate becomes a ruling in these courts.”

This lawyer told Voice of America that Arash Ganji, who was arrested on December 21st, 2019, was released from Evin Prison after four weeks on bail of 450 million tomans temporarily until the end of the trial.

Mr. Ganji’s first court session was held on June 15th under the presidency of Judge Moghisseh. In that session, his bail was increased to 3 billion tomans; an increase in bail that led to his re-arrest and return to Evin Prison. This member of the Iranian Writers Association was finally released from Evin detention on June 21st after posting bail again temporarily until the end of the trial proceedings.

This is not the first time members of the Iranian Writers Association have been arrested and sentenced to lengthy sentences. Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Baktash Abtin, and Keyvan Bazhang, three other members of this association, are also serving time in prison.