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Petition Urges Ayatollah to Pardon Condemned Iranian Poets Petition Urges Ayatollah to Pardon Condemned Iranian Poets
(about 1 hour later)
Two Iranian poets sentenced to long prison terms and floggings have vaulted to international literary prominence over their prosecution, which appears to reflect a tough new crackdown on rights and creative arts in Iran.Two Iranian poets sentenced to long prison terms and floggings have vaulted to international literary prominence over their prosecution, which appears to reflect a tough new crackdown on rights and creative arts in Iran.
On Sunday, the PEN American Center, an advocacy group that promotes free expression worldwide, sent a petition signed by 116 accomplished poets and writers to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beseeching him to grant pardons to the condemned poets, Fatemeh Ekhtesari, 31, and Mehdi Mousavi, 41. On Sunday, the PEN American Center, an advocacy group that promotes free expression worldwide, sent a petition signed by 116 poets and writers to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beseeching him to grant pardons to the condemned poets, Fatemeh Ekhtesari, 31, and Mehdi Mousavi, 41.
“We are deeply concerned by the inhuman sentences levied against Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Mousavi for the simple act of expressing themselves by creating art,” read the letter, which was posted on the group’s website. “The act of writing poetry is no crime.” “We are deeply concerned by the inhuman sentences levied against Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Mousavi for the simple act of expressing themselves by creating art,” read the letter, which was posted on the group’s website.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s own poetic writings and Iran’s rich history of literature, the letter read, should serve to justify his intervention in the case. “As a poet and scholar of poetry, we appeal to you not to allow this legacy to be clouded by cruel and unwarranted treatment of these two writers,” the letter read. Ayatollah Khamenei’s own poetic writings and Iran’s rich history of literature, the letter read, should serve to justify his intervention. “As a poet and scholar of poetry, we appeal to you not to allow this legacy to be clouded by cruel and unwarranted treatment of these two writers,” the letter read.
Ms. Ekhtesari, who has won acclaim for poems about Iranian women, and Mr. Mousavi, known for poems on social issues, join a growing list of writers, artists, lawyers, political dissidents and others who have offended the strictly conservative anti-Western factions believed to control the judiciary, police, military and intelligence services in Iran. Ms. Ekhtesari, who has won acclaim for poems about Iranian women, and Mr. Mousavi, known for poems on social issues, join a growing list of writers, artists, lawyers, political dissidents and others who have offended the conservative anti-Western factions believed to control the judiciary, police, military and intelligence services in Iran.
Despite pledges by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran to soften the repressive atmosphere that prevailed before his election in 2013, rights advocates say that in some ways it has worsened, particularly since Mr. Rouhani’s government reached a nuclear agreement with foreign powers including the United States nearly four months ago that stands to ease Iran’s international economic isolation. Despite pledges by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran to soften the repressive atmosphere that prevailed before his election in 2013, rights advocates say that in some ways it has worsened, particularly since Mr. Rouhani’s government reached a nuclear agreement with foreign powers including the United States that stands to ease Iran’s international economic isolation.
Many rights activists view the crackdown as part of a power struggle within the government, pitting President Mousavi’s desire to open up the country against hard-line adversaries who view such openness as a threat to their power and the tenets of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Many rights activists view the crackdown as part of a struggle within the government, pitting President Rouhani’s desire to open up the country against hard-line adversaries who view such openness as a threat to their power and the tenets of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The same tensions appear to be reflected in the espionage prosecution and conviction of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran who has been imprisoned since July 2014, as well as the recently reported arrest of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has advocated improved relations with the United States. The same tensions appear to be reflected in the espionage prosecution and conviction of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran who has been imprisoned since July 2014, and the recent arrest of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian who has advocated improved relations with the United States.While Ayatollah Khamenei supports the nuclear agreement, his sympathies also lie with the deeply anti-American suspicions shared by the agreement’s opponents in Iran.
While Ayatollah Khamenei supports the nuclear agreement, his sympathies also lie with the deeply anti-American suspicions shared by the agreement’s opponents in Iran. Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Mousavi were first arrested in 2013, placed in solitary confinement and interrogated, according to activists following their case. They were released on bail in January 2014, awaiting verdicts on charges that included insulting the sacred in their poems, publishing unauthorized content and spreading anti-state propaganda.
Ms. Ekhtesari and Mr. Mousavi were first arrested in late 2013, placed in solitary confinement and interrogated, according to activists following their case. They were released on bail in January 2014 while awaiting verdicts on charges that included insulting the sacred in their poems, publishing unauthorized content and spreading anti-state propaganda.
The sentences — 11 and a half years for Ms. Ekhtesari and nine years for Mr. Mousavi, plus 99 lashes for both — were conveyed to their lawyer, Amir Raeesian, on Oct. 10. He has called them baseless and vowed to appeal.The sentences — 11 and a half years for Ms. Ekhtesari and nine years for Mr. Mousavi, plus 99 lashes for both — were conveyed to their lawyer, Amir Raeesian, on Oct. 10. He has called them baseless and vowed to appeal.
Prosecutors have never made clear precisely which poems were deemed to be criminal. But a poem from one of Ms. Ekhtesari’s collected works, “A Feminist Discussion Before Boiling the Potatoes,” was the basis for a 2010 protest song by an Iranian musician based in Germany, Shahin Najafi, who was declared to be an apostate in Iran three years ago. Prosecutors have never made clear which poems were deemed criminal. But a poem from one of Ms. Ekhtesari’s collected works, “A Feminist Discussion Before Boiling the Potatoes,” was the basis for a 2010 protest song by an Iranian musician based in Germany, Shahin Najafi, who was declared to be an apostate in Iran three years ago. Nor has a precise explanation been offered for the flogging punishment, but it may derive from a Swedish poetry festival, where both defendants shook hands with members of the opposite sex.
Nor has a precise explanation been offered for the flogging punishment, but it may derive from an appearance at a Swedish poetry festival where both defendants shook hands with members of the opposite sex. Under Iran’s legal system, such behavior apparently can be interpreted as one step short of adultery, a crime. The PEN petition constitutes a Who’s Who in the Western poetic literary world, laced with best-selling authors and winners of Pulitzers, National Book Awards and other honors. Suzanne Nossel, executive director of the PEN American Center, said that while the group had organized petition drives before, “it was novel to mobilize poets.”
Names on the PEN petition constitute a Who’s Who in the Western poetic literary world, heavily laced with best-selling authors and winners of Pulitzers, National Book Awards and other honors. They include John Ashbery, Billy Collins, Mary Karr, Paul Muldoon, Robert Pinsky, Claudia Rankine and Vijay Sheshradi. While the Iranian authorities often dispute criticism from American and mainstream human rights groups, Ms. Nossel said, she said shehoped the PEN petition would be an exception in Iran.
Suzanne Nossel, executive director of the PEN American Center, said in a telephone interview that while the group had organized many petition drives before, “it was novel to mobilize poets.”
“A lot of people wrote back about how touched they were in this case,” she said.
While the Iranian authorities often dismiss or dispute criticism from American and mainstream human rights groups, Ms. Nossel said, she expressed hope that the PEN petition would be an exception in Iran.
“It’s a very literary culture,” she said. “They don’t dismiss poetry.”“It’s a very literary culture,” she said. “They don’t dismiss poetry.”