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The arrests in Iran are increasing and the sentences are becoming more and more serious. Amnesty International has more than 7,000 arrests during the year 2018 among which several writers, artists and journalists ...
" We are concerned about the conviction of three of our members, " said Aida Amidi, poet and member of the Iranian Writers' Association. The association founded in 1969 aims to promote freedom of expression and fight against censorship. Last May , as she was about to celebrate her 50th birthday, three of her members, Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bazhan and Reza Khandan-Mahabadi, were each sentenced to six years in prison. They are charged with "propaganda against the regime" and "gathering and colluding in order to act against national security". In the case, their activities within the association and the organization of a ceremony in tribute to the Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou, died in 2000. The three writers are now waiting to pass before the Iranian Court of Appeal which generally confirms or readjusts successor For Aida Amidi, " the pressures on the association have always existed, but they are becoming stronger. "
" The human rights situation has deteriorated in Iran. We are seeing more and more people being arrested and the sentences are getting louder, "said Mansoureh Mills, Amnesty International's Middle East researcher . " This last year for the first time we saw sentences of 24, 30 and 33 years whereas until now they went up to 10 or 15 years and it was already a lot (...) in this way the authorities want lead by example and scare people, "adds the researcher.
Internal and external political tension
Since the exit of the United States from the nuclear agreement , the Iranian economic situation and the living conditions of the population have deteriorated. Rising prices and unpaid wages are provoking protests across the country: " The authorities are terrified by all forms of public protest, they fear that people are less afraid of criticizing them, " says Mansoureh Mills. For example, several journalists were arrested for covering the workers' demonstration on 1 May or earlier in the year for workers at the Haft Tappeh sugar cane factory in Khuzestan province.
Faced with external and internal pressures, the country is closing and the conservatives, at the head of the judicial system, have regained control despite a reformist government and a few months of legislative elections in 2020. The moderate president Hassan Rohani, weakened, is subject to the authority of the Supreme Leader. For Mansoureh Mills, the red lines are more numerous: " The field of activities that can be considered as a crime is becoming wider, " she says. " The situation is more complicated but people remain true to their convictions. The more thoughtful they are, the more they are bothered. "Says an actor half-heartedly under cover of anonymity.
Outside support
However, during the mandate of Rohani, some progress had been noted, including the possibility of organizing concerts or the increase in the number of authorized publications: " The authorizations for publication are indeed submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Culture. Islamic guidance, so there are ups and downs, but our association is totally opposed to censorship. We are questioning the whole process. Why should a writer's book have to be corrected, why do I have to obtain authorizations according to red lines decided by the regime? And why are some writers on a list that for years forbade them to publish a work? "Is indignant Aida Amidi.
A manager and concert organizer in Tehran notes that the rights of artists follow a cycle: eight years of reformers and an opening for film, theater and music and eight years of conservatives and everything is closed again. This is also what a musician from Tehran feels: " Personally, I can not work or organize in concert, especially because I play rock. The situation is really more complicated than before. We can not even count on the work permits that are issued, because at any moment it is possible that they are canceled by the governmental or religious authorities ".
"We need support from the outside"
A petition was launched by Anonymous on change.org to protest against the condemnation of the writers of the Iranian association. It has been signed by the Iranian director Jafar Panahi , himself under the ban of exit and filming. " We need support from the outside on this file so that at least it does not happen to other writers, because today, I think that beyond being a member of the association, anyone who writes or believes in freedom of expression may be in danger, "Aida Amidi concludes.