Iranian Kurdistan Pen Association

 

 

The most important thing for the countries which want to develop themselves is to prepare a free space for discussions among their citizens. So, the freedom of speech and freedom of publishing which is known as the forth column of democracies are the most important elements for progression and development of the societies. Contrarily, there are systems which are being damaged by the freedom of speech and publishing; we generally call them "totalitarian" systems, which deprive any rights to expressing ideas.

Nowadays we see that the situation of writers in Iran is deteriorating every day. Execution of Yaghub Mehrnehad, Baluchi blogger, the suspicious death of Omid Reza Mir Sayafi another Iranian blogger in prison, and issuing heavy condemnations for Mohammad Seddigh Kabudvand, or issuing death sentences for some like Adnan Hasanpur and Hiwa Butimar all are the signs of the increasing pressures and widespread preventions from expressing ideas different from the governing political system.

The manifest of Iranian Writers Club which has been issued at the end of February, 2009 reports about summoning some members of this Club like Mahmud Dolat Abadi, Farzane Aghaipoor, Majid Amin Moaiyed, Naser Zarafshan, Farkhonde Hajizade and Hassan Sanei. The mentioned manifest reports about the increasing censorship in cinema, theatre, books and the increasing pressures on writers and publishers. This manifest also opposes to the increasing pressures on bloggers and issuing imprisonment sentences for some of them.

These all are signs of increasing pressures on writers and decreasing the freedom of speech and manifesting ideas.

Iranian Kurdistan Pen Association condemns issuing death sentences, detention, prosecuting and torturing writers, censorship in cinema, theater, book publishing, and newspapers and demands for stopping these pressures on publishers, writers and journalists in Iran.

 

  Iranian Kurdistan Pen Association

  Tuesday, May 05, 2009