Dozens of NGOs and Cartoonists Call for the Release of Atena Farghadani

Forty NGOs and more than 75 international cartoonists have written a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, demanding the release of Atena Farghadani, a painter, civil rights activist, and child rights advocate. The signatories of this letter, published by the International Cartoonist Rights Network, state that the Iranian government, with the onset of new relations with the international community, has successfully released a group of political prisoners, including Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist. They added, 'Based on such a very positive performance, we ask you to negotiate with the judiciary and facilitate the release of Atena Farghadani, who has been imprisoned for publishing a simple cartoon on the internet.' Farghadani was previously arrested in September 2014 by the Revolutionary Guards but was released on bail. In an interview with the Jaras website, she stated that her critical drawings and her connections with the families of victims of the 2009 protests and Baha'is were the main focus of her interrogations. After her release, she reported in an online video about the installation of surveillance cameras in the bathrooms and showers of Ward 2A of the Revolutionary Guards. Ultimately, on January 10, 2015, after presenting herself to Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, she was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin. Following a hunger strike, she was sent to Evin Prison in March. The arrest of this young Iranian painter has been reflected in global media. The NGOs and cartoonists who signed the recent letter to the Iranian president have expressed hope that Hassan Rouhani can persuade the judiciary to drop the charges against Farghadani and end her sentence. They say the world looks with hope to the release of Atena Farghadani, which could demonstrate Iran's support for freedom of thought and expression alongside other recognized human rights. Robert Russell, the executive director of the International Cartoonist Rights Network, along with a group of other cartoonists and cultural figures, as well as NGOs such as 'Article 19', journalist associations in Belarus, Brazil, Romania, Pakistan, and other countries, Reporters Without Borders, the International PEN Association, and its affiliates in Canada, Denmark, Bangladesh, and the United States are among the signatories of this request.