Two Iranian Poets, Fateme Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi, Receive Harsh Sentences

October 28, 2015

Ekhtesari and Moosavi

For ‘insulting the sacred,’ Iranian poets Fateme Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi have received, respectively, eleven-and-a-half- and nine-year prison sentences from the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

“Nowhere in their poetry are there any words or subjects which could represent ‘insulting the sacred,’” said the poets’ attorney, Amir Raeesian, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “All books by these two poets were published by permits issued by the Ministry of [Culture and Islamic] Guidance.”

Raeesian said the poets’ sentences also come with ninety-nine lashes each for “illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery,” because Ekhtesari shook hands with strangers of the opposite sex who were not immediate kin or spouse at a poetry festival in Sweden.

Fateme Ekhtesari, 31, an obstetrician and poet, was sentenced to seven years for “insulting the sacred,” three years for “publishing unauthorized content in cyberspace,” and one and a half years for “propaganda against the state.”

According to her ruling, Ekhtesari’s charge of “propaganda against the state,” resulted from her trip with five other women to Sweden to read poetry.

“In her ruling it is reflected that she cooperated with Swedish journalists and spies on this trip, and that she had exchanged information and provided negative propaganda about Iran,” Raeesian said to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “But none of these are true. The Intelligence Ministry can easily find the names of individuals who attended the festival and research them. None of them were spies.”

Mehdi Moosavi, 41, a physician and poet known for writing about social issues, was sentenced to six years in prison for “insulting the sacred,” and three years for “possession of tear gas at his residence.”

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that the “so-called tear gas was the self-defense spray, Mace, for which he had a permit.”

Before the ruling, the poets were arrested on December 7, 2013, after they were prevented from traveling to a literary workshop in Turkey, but were released on bail on January 14, 2014 due to international outcry.

PEN International reports that the poets have the right to appeal their sentences and are currently still free.

Review English PEN’s website for information about how to protest the convictions and send appeals, or learn more about the crackdown by hard-liners in the Iranian police and judiciary.

 

Photo Credit: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

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