The Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on its own citizens continues, with members of Iran’s writing community among those arrested.
On 26 January, Iranian writer, poet, and translator Ali Asadollahi was forcibly taken from his home by security forces on undisclosed charges. But Ali’s case is not isolated.
Several members of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA) have been detained by regime authorities. On 8 January, IWA board member Yousef Ansari and another writer were arrested after reading poetry and a statement at a memorial ceremony for Baktash Abtin—a poet, filmmaker, IWA board member, and PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award recipient.
Writers and artists have become collateral damage during the ongoing protests, with reported casualties in the thousands. The Iranian government has long been one of the world’s most repressive regimes and a chief persecutor of writers. The regime is now resorting to indiscriminate street violence in order to retain its grip on civil society.
PEN Sydney joins the PEN community in condemning Ali’s arrest, and calls for his unconditional and immediate release, along with an end to violence against Iranian citizens practising their fundamental human right to protest.
Dominic Anderton