The Kurdish PEN in Europe has issued a statement condemning the sentencing of Arash Ganji, a member of the Iranian Writers Association, to 11 years in prison for translating a book.
It demanded the revocation of Ganji’s sentence and that of other writers imprisoned in Iran.
Arash Ganji was sent to Evin Prison in Tehran on 1 November 2021 to serve his prison sentence.
Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran had previously sentenced the author and translator to 11 years imprisonment.
It included five years on charges of “assembly and collusion to act against national security”, one year on “propaganda against the state”, and five years on “membership and cooperation with an anti-state group”.
According to Article 134 of the Iranian Islamic Penal Code, out of the total of 11 years, only the highest of the sentences, five years imprisonment, is applicable.
Among the accusations against him is translating a book entitled “A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution” on the Rojava revolution [in North and East Syria].
In its statement, the Kurdish PEN said: “Hearing the news of the punishment of a writer or translator for translating a book about the developments in another country is ridiculous, tragic and a clear violation of the fundamental right to freedom of thought. Equating critical views and freedom of expression with ‘security crimes’ is a common and strategic point of totalitarian regimes in which writers, political and civil rights activists are accused and punished for the peaceful expression of their views. This issue is often seen in Iran and is gaining momentum day by day.”
Addressing the Iranian judiciary, it added: “The struggle for freedom of expression has no boundaries and will not stop with the arrest and punishment of writers, critics and activists. This unjust decision against Arash Ganji is in direct conflict with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR], to which Iran is a committed party.”
At the end of the statement, the Kurdish PEN condemned the issuance and execution of a prison sentence for Arash Ganji and the detention of three other members of the Iranian Writers Association, Reza Khandan (Mahabadi), Baktash Abtin, and Keyvan Bazhen, on various accusations. It called on Iranian authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally.