American PEN Calls on Writers Worldwide to Speak Up for Sepideh Rashno and Imprisoned Authors

The American PEN Association, in a statement written by Sepideh Rashno, a writer protesting mandatory hijab, called on writers from around the world to discuss her situation and the plight of other imprisoned writers in Iran. This statement, which Rashno provided to the association shortly before her summons for imprisonment, was published on Friday, July 27. Rashno was summoned by the enforcement unit of the judiciary on August 1 to serve a sentence of three years and seven months in Evin Prison, and according to the latest news, she is expected to report to the prison on the morning of Saturday, August 6. In her text, Rashno wrote, 'In a totalitarian government like the Islamic Republic, the literature of struggle is sometimes a 'simple narrative.' In these governments, which always censor media, press, and books to falsely present a real face, narratives play a significant role in the struggle these days.' Rashno added, 'The Islamic Republic, like any other totalitarian regime, is very afraid of narrators and even more so of narrators who are fighters. The narrative is a red line against all these lies; especially in a government that denies the disappearance and even imprisonment of fighters.' This writer opposing the mandatory hijab emphasized that 'the narrative is always part of the struggle, and the narrator is a fighter. The narrative is a big 'no' to lies. A big 'no' to silence. As a writer, I have never thought that literature and storytelling are separate from the struggle and resistance for human rights.' Rashno further stated that 'the fighter honestly documents everything that has happened to them to serve as a record in history. To serve as a record of decades of human efforts in the face of tyranny and totalitarianism.' The American PEN Association introduced writers like Sepideh Rashno as a 'symbolic role' that writers and artists often take on in defense of human rights. The association has called on writers around the world to share Rashno's text on social media and to speak out against her unjust imprisonment and the imprisonment of other writers detained in Iran for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Rashno also published a video on her Instagram page, stating that she would report to prison on August 6, asserting that she has done nothing to be removed from the city and sent to prison, but 'the hand and foot of evil have so deeply penetrated our lives that our body, individuality, and life are crimes.' She continued, stating that the lives of individuals currently under death sentences are more important than her imprisonment, saying, 'I think the most important issue now is that this evil comes to an end. In this evil, we are all guilty; we are just recognized as criminals in turn.' Rashno was arrested in the summer of 2022 after a video of her protesting against a veiled woman on a bus went viral on social media. After her temporary release, she continued her civil protest against mandatory hijab despite significant pressures. Her sentence of three years and seven months in prison is due to her first case related to the protest on the 'bus,' a four-month sentence for her second case concerning 'announcing the suspension of the university,' and a fine of 1.5 million tomans related to her third case, which involved 'attending court with a chosen outfit on the day of the second case.' Weeks after this writer's arrest over the first case, the state television of the Islamic Republic aired a video of her 'forced confession,' which clearly showed signs of physical abuse on her face. In late summer 2022, following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the morality police, the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protest movement emerged; a nationwide protest that the Iranian government severely suppressed, leaving hundreds dead. According to the 'Writing Freedom Index' report published by the American PEN in 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran remains the second-largest prison for writers in the world after China.