Continued Clampdown on Freedom of Expression in Iran; Take Action Campaihn

          
          iran Campaign - Freedom to Write Page 1 of 1
          INTERNATIONAL PEN
          Writers in Prison Committee
          IRAN CAMPAIGN
          MAY 7-28, 2002
          Continued Clampdown on Freedom of Expression in Iran
          The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is
          currently working for the release of seven writers and
          journalists serving lengthy prison sentences in Iran and is
          ,
          [ J 4 monitoring the cases of 23 more who are sentenced or facing
          S ! charges PEN believes these cases are all part of a pattern of
          repression by the conservative judiciary against reformist and
          independent figures that has been gathering momentum in Iran since the
          parliamentary elections of February 2000. In the wake of the reformist victory in
          those elections, the hard-line conservative establishment has used its control of the
          judiciary to launch a serious oLensive on President Khatami's Reform movement,
          targeting in particular writers, journalists, and publishers. Over 50 publications have
          been closed down, and dozens of editors, journalists, publishers, and intellectuals
          have been imprisoned. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran
          in his January 2002 report, there has been no improvement in the state of free
          expression in Iran since the spring of 2000. He notes, “Indeed, in the present
          circumstances, it is perhaps surprising how fearless the public discourse generally
          is.”
          In addition to the ongoing imprisonment of writers and journalists in Iran, the
          campaign centers on existing concerns about fair trial and the ill treatment of writers
          and journalists in prison. Throughout the four weeks, the campaign will
          consecutively highlight four cases: KhaIiI Rostamkhani, Akbar Ganji,
          Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari, and Siamak Pourzand. PEN members
          and friends are asked to send at least one letter on behalf of each of these men
          during May to the Iranian authorities and Iran's diplomatic representatives in the
          United States.
          TAKE ACTION NOW
          KhaIiI
          Rostamkhani
          Akbar
          Ganji
          H.Hasan
          Yousefi
          
          Eshkevari
          I
          I I
          I Siamak
          Pourzand
          SP00089
          http://www .pen .org/ffleedomIiran.htrn 5/10/2002