News & Views

PEN calls for the immediate release of Mr. Zaeri

His Excellency Hojatoleslam val-moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011-9821-673-177 (via foreign affairs)

August 8, 1998

Your Excellency,

As an international fellowship of writers dedicated to defending freedom of expression both in the United States and abroad, we write to express our concern about the arrest and imprisonment of Mohammad-Reza Zaeri, publisher of the weekly, Khaneh, on July 29, 1998.

Accused of "insulting Islam, the Shiite clergy and the late Ayatollah Khomeini", as well as publishing photographs of an unveiled woman playing football, Mr. Zaeri faces a two-year prison term. The charges essentially amount to the July 15, 1998 publication of an anonymous letter criticizing the death edict against the author Salman Rushdie.

We protest, in no uncertain terms, the actions taken against Mr. Zaeri. Firstly, it is a clear violation of international standards. Article 19, section (2) of the International Covenant of the Civil and Political Rights guarantees that "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."

Secondly, the possibility of a two-year sentence appears to be highly disproportionate to activities undertaken by an editor or journalist--regardless of how they are deemed. Such punishment results only in serving the censorship apparatus that, when strengthened, engenders an oppressed society with no access to adequate information. Of most concern to PEN is the potential for further limitations on free expression in Iran; the latest incidents surrounding Jameah newspaper attest to the increasing suppression of Iranian writers and journalists.

We call for your personal intervention in securing the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Zaeri so that Iranians may see, by example, your commitment to the fundamental right of freedom of expression for all, including writers, journalists and intellectuals. Khaneh must be allowed to endorse the fundamental right to freedom of expression and the practice of journalism without fear of harassment.

Anthony Appiah Chair,
PEN Freedom-to-Write Committee

Michael Roberts
Executive Director, PEN American Center

Diana Ayton-Shenker
Director, PEN Freedom-to-Write Program

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