Caselist - PEN International

82all closed between 1998-2000; editor of daily Kayhan throughout the1980s. He currently serves as the spokesman for the Iranian Committeefor the Defense of Freedom of the Press, and also as vice president ofthe Association of Iranian Journalists. Date of arrest: 28 December2009 Sentence: 16 months in prison Expires: 20 August 2012 Detailsof arrest: Reportedly arrested at his Tehran home on 28 December2009, in the aftermath of the 2009 Ashura protests. Released on bailon 28 February 2010. Details of trial: Sentenced to sixteen months inprison on 7 December 2010 on charges of ‘insulting President MahmoudAhmadinejad’ and ‘undermining the Islamic regime’. According toShamsolvaezin, he was sentenced to one year in prison on the chargeof undermining the establishment for giving interviews to foreign TVnetworks and news agencies and also four month- sentence for calling thepresident a megalomaniac in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV. Remainedfree on bail until 21 July 2011, when he was summoned to serve out theremainder of his sixteen-month sentence. Place of detention: Evin prison,Tehran. Previous political imprisonment/problems: Shamsolvaezin hasbeen imprisoned multiple times for his journalism, including a sentenceof thirty months in April 2000 for article criticising the death penalty.Nasrin SOUTADEH (f)D.o.b.: 1963 Profession: Prominent writer, journalist and lawyer. Date ofarrest: 4 September 2010. Sentence: Eleven years in prison, reduced tosix years on appeal. Expires: 3 September 2016 Details of arrest: NasrinSotoudeh, aged 47 and a mother of two young children, was arrested on4 September 2010 when she was summoned to the special court in Evinprison on charges of “propaganda against the state”, “cooperating withthe Human Rights Defenders’ Centre” and “conspiracy to disturb order”.The arrest followed a raid on her home and office by security officers on29 August 2010, who confiscated her files and documents. Her lawyerwas not allowed to represent her in court or accompany her client duringquestioning. Details of trial: The eleven-year sentence was deliveredby Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court on 9 January 2011. She wasalso banned from practicing law and from leaving the country for twentyyears. The sentence comprises one year imprisonment for “propagandaagainst the regime”, and ten years for “acting against national security”.Sotoudeh was given a heavy fine for “violating the Islamic dress code(Hijab) in a filmed speech”. She is believed to be charged for criticalinterviews she gave to overseas media following the disputed June 2009presidential election, and for her membership of the Human RightsDefenders’ Centre (see below for more details). After the sentence wasdelivered her husband was summoned for questioning by Branch 1 of theRevolutionary Court, allegedly for interviews he had given to the media.The sentence was reduced to six years on appeal in mid-September 2011.The twenty-year ban on Soutadeh practising law was also reduced to tenyears. Place of detention: The Women’s Ward of Tehran’s Evin Prison.Treatment in prison: Since her arrest Nasrin Soutadeh has been allowedvery limited access to her family, and her family have been harassedduring prison visits. While on trial, Sotoudeh was held in solitaryconfinement. Professional details: Nasrin Sotoudeh is best known asa human rights lawyer and activist, but has also worked as a journalistfor several reformist newspapers including Jame’e. Since qualifying as alawyer in 2003, she has specialised in women’s and children’s rights, andhas continued to write articles on these issues. Many of her articles havebeen rejected for publication, including a report written for a special issueof Daricheh on women’s rights for the occasion of 8 March (Women’sDay) 2010. Following the launch of the One Million Signatures Campaignfor the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws in August 2006 by several leadingIranian women activists (http://www.iranianfeministschool.org/english/spip.php?rubrique3), and the widespread growth of the women’s rightsmovement in Iran, she has represented many women’s rights activistsincluding Parvin Ardalan, a well-known PEN case. She is a close associateof exiled lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and hasrepresented many imprisoned Iranian opposition activists arrested inthe crackdown on dissent following the disputed presidential electionsof 12 June 2009, and many of whom have been handed down lengthysentences. Other information: Recipient of the 2011 American PENCentre’s Barbara Goldsmith award. Honorary member of: Swedish,Canadian, Finnish and Scottish PEN. [RAN 54/10- Update #1].Ahmad ZAID-ABADIProfession: Journalist who wrote a weekly column for Rooz Online, aFarsi- and English-language reformist news Web site. Date of arrest: June2009 Sentence: Six years in prison Expires: June 2015 Details of arrest:Reportedly arrested in Tehran during the crackdown on protests followingthe disputed June 2009 presidential elections. Details of trial: Zaid-Abadiwas reportedly among more than 100 opposition figures and journalists whofaced a mass, televised trial in August 2009 on vague anti-state accusations.In November, he was sentenced to six years in prison, five years of exile inGonabad, Razavi Khorasan province, and a lifetime deprivation of socialand political activities. Sentence upheld on appeal in early January 2010.Treatment in prison: His wife reports that he is being held in inhumaneconditions. Health concerns: His wife reports in July 2011 that he has losta lot of weight and is seriously concerned for his health.Imprisoned: investigation*Siamak GHADERI: Journalist, had worked for IRNA for 18 years.Reportedly arrested August 2010 and sentenced to 4 years imprisonmentfor allegedly participating in anti-government protests and reporting onthem. Had established a blog called ‘Our IRNA’ after the 2009 presidentialelection. Charged with ‘propaganda against the system’ and‘publishing lies’. Held in Section 209 of Evin prison as of 31 December2011. WiPC seeking further details.Nader KARIMI JUNI: Journalist and chief editor with publicationsGozaresh, Fekr, Jahan Sanat, Siasat Rooz. Date of arrest: November2008 Sentence: Five years in prison. Details of trial: Reportedlysentenced to ten years imprisonment in January 2009 by Branch 28 ofthe Revolutionary Court of Tehran for acting against national security,conspiracy and spying. The sentence was reduced to five years on appeal.Place of detention: Section 350 of Evin prison Previous politicalimprisonment/problems: He was reportedly previously detained twicedue to his press activities. Health concerns: Said to be in need ofconstant medical supervision due to the injuries that he sustained duringthe Iran-Iraq war. WiPC seeking further details of the reason for thecharges against him.Mehdi KHAZALI: Blogger. Editor of website Baran (www.drkhazali.com). Reportedly arrested on 13 October 2010 after responding to asummons. Thought to be charged with ‘activities contrary to nationalsecurity’ and ‘publishing false information aimed at disrupting publicorder’ for articles critical of President Ahmedinejad and his governmentpublished on his website Baran. Reportedly released on bail pending trialon 12 November 2010, but re-arrested on 18 July 2011. WiPC seekingfurther details.Mohammad POUR ABDOLLAHProfession: Freelance journalist, Tehran university student and a blogger.Date of arrest: 13 February 2009 Sentence: Three years in prison. Expires:12 February 2012 Details of trial: In December 2009, a RevolutionaryCourt convicted Pour Abdollah on charges of “propagating against theIslamic Republic of Iran; assembly and collusion to disrupt the nationalsecurity’. In April 2010 his sentence was reduced on appeal to three years.Known for his critical writings posted on his blog about the political, social,and economic conditions in Iran and elsewhere. Treatment in prison:Reportedly tortured while in custody at Ghezel Hesar Prison, a facility thathouses hardened criminals. He has been transferred to Evin Prison. WiPCseeking further details about the reason for his arrest and the charges.*Alireza ROSHAN: Poet, writer and head of the book section of theShargh newspaper. Also an administrator for the Gonabadi Dervishwebsite Majzooban Noor. Reportedly arrested at his home on 6September 2011 and transferred to an undisclosed location. One ofeleven Majzooban Noor website administrators to be detained in earlySeptember 2011 following a violent incident on 2 September in Kavarcounty in which security forces allegedly opened fire on dervishes,injuring many. No information about the whereabouts of those detainedor the reason for their detention has been disclosed. Roshan is a poet whohas published a collection of poems entitled There is no Book and hispoetry has been translated into French. WiPC seeking an update.Sentenced – not imprisonedMahbubeh ABBASGHOLIZADEH (f), Parvin ARDALAN (f),Zhila BANI-YAGHOUB (f) and Shadi SADR (f): Prominent womenwriters and journalists. Arrested on 4 March 2007 along with thirty otherwomen activists. All four were released on bail in March 2007 but arestill facing charges of ‘acting against national security’, ‘participating inan illegal demonstration’ and ‘publicity against the Islamic Republic’ fororganising a demonstration in Tehran on 4 March 2007. Parvin Ardalan,winner of Olof Palme Prize 2007 and honorary member of Swedish PEN,is facing two terms of six-month imprisonment. Other women journalistsand internet writers facing possible imprisonment in connection with theprotest include Nusheen Ahmadi Khorasani (6 months), Jelveh Javaheri(6 months), Maryam Hosseinkhah (6 months), Nahid Keshavarz (6months) and Delaram Ali (30 months and 10 lashes (RAN 13/07, 12March 2007; Update #1, 26 March 2007). Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadehwas sentenced in absentia to two-and-a-half years in prison and thirtylashes. Shadi Sadr was sentenced to six years in prison and seventy-fourlashes in absentia. Both are said to be currently abroad.Shiva Nazar AHARI (f): Reporter for the Committee of Human RightsReporters. Aged 27. Reportedly arrested on 14 June 2009 in her officefollowing the disputed presidential elections. Charged with ‘moharebeh’(‘waging war against god’), ‘propagation against the regime’ and‘actions against national security’ for her alleged participation in politicalgatherings in 2009. She was released on 13 October 2009 on bail of$200,000 but re-arrested on 19 December 2009 on her way to Qom toattend the funeral of the Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. According to hermother, in April 2010, Shiva Nazar Ahari was charged with “causingunease in the public mind through writing on the CHRR’s website andother sites” and “acting against national security by participating in[anti-government] demonstrations on 4 November 2009 and 7 December2009.” Shiva Nazar Ahari denied attending the demonstrations, sayingthat she had been at work on those days. Released on bail on 12 September2010. In a lower court hearing on 4 September 2010, she was sentencedto six years in prison, exile to township of Izeh, and 74 lashes. In January2011, it was reported that Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Courts hadacquitted Shiva Nazar Ahari of the charges of “assembly and collusionagainst the regime,” reducing her sentence to four years in prison and alsochanged her exile location from the township of Izeh to one of the prisonsin Karaj. She is thought to remain free on bail awaiting her prison re-call.WiPC seeking an update.Jila (Zhila) BANIYAGHOUB (f): Editor-in-chief of the Iranian Women’sClub, a news web site focusing on women’s rights, has been reportedlysentenced to one year in prison and 30-year ban from journalism on 8June 2010. She was arrested on 19 June 2009, with her husband journalistBahman Ahmadi Amoue, who is serving a five-year prison sentence onsecurity charges (see above ‘main cases’). Baniyaghoub was releasedon bail on 19 August 2009; however, the trial against her continued oncharges of ‘propaganda against the regime’, for her reports in relation tothe June 2009 presidential elections in Iran and the protests that occurredafterwards. Her defence filed an appeal on 27 June 2010, but the sentencewas upheld. She is at risk of arrest.*Nargess MOHAMMADI (f)D.o.b.: 1972 Profession: Prominent activist and journalist. Director ofthe Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) founded by Nobel peacelaureate Shirin Ebadi. Date of arrest: 10 June 2010 Sentence: 11 yearsin prison Expires: 9 June 2021 Details of arrest: Arrested from herhome without a warrant and held in Evin prison until she was released onbail on 1 July 2010 following a severe deterioration of her health. Afterher release on bail she spent a month in hospital. Details of trial: On 26September 2011 a court in Tehran sentenced her to eleven years in prisonfor ‘acting against the national security’, ‘membership of the DHRC’and ‘propaganda against the regime’ for her reporting on human rightsviolations, cooperation with Shirin Ebadi and visiting political prisoners.Mohammadi is appealing against the sentence and remains free on bail.Health concerns: Since her arrest she has developed an undiagnosedepilepsy-like disease which causes her to lose control over her musclestemporarily during the day. Other information: Mohammadi is a motherof two and winner of the 2009 Alexander Langer award for her humanrights activities. She is the wife of prominent journalist and activist TaghiRahmani, who has spent a total of seventeen years in prison. Honorarymember of: Danish PEN.Badressadat MOFIDI (f): Journalist who was formally the secretarygeneralof the banned Association of Iranian Journalists in Tehran. On 3August 2010, she was reportedly sentenced to 6 years in jail and bannedfrom working on ‘press activities’ for 5 years. She was sentenced by theIslamic Revolutionary Court for “assembly and collusion to commit acrime’ and “propagating against the regime” for her work with theAssociation of Iranian Journalists. Mofidi was arrested on 29 December2009 after she discussed the government’s press policies in an interviewwith the Persian service of the German public broadcaster Deutche Welle.She was held in Evin Prison until her release on bail pending trial in June2010. She remains free on bail pending appeal. No further information asof 31 December 2011.Dr Fariborz RAEIS-DANAProfession: Economist, writer and active member of the banned IranianWriters Association. Date of arrest: 19 December 2010 Sentence: Oneyear in prison Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested at his home followingan interview he gave to the BBC Persian service about Ahmadinejad’seconomic policies. Held for one month before being released on bailpending trial. Details of trial: Sentenced on 15 June 2011 by branch 28of the Islamic Revolutionary court. Remains free on bail pending appealas of 31 December 2011.83