Ismail Jamshidi, Writer and Member of the Iranian Writers' Association, Arrested

Ismail Jamshidi, a writer and member of the Iranian Writers' Association, was arrested on July 12, 2003. On the morning of Wednesday, July 9, four plainclothes officers (Iranians) stormed Ismail Jamshidi's home located in the Writers' Quarter and arrested him. The officers, who had a judicial warrant, confiscated all of his manuscripts, archives, computer, and some of his books and interview tapes that are materials for some of his works. Ismail Jamshidi, the editor of the banned publication 'Gordon', had been under house arrest for years, spending his time writing new books. A long-time member of the Iranian Writers' Association, he is now being interrogated in Branch 12 of Evin Prison after forty years of writing and journalism. In the past year, his new book 'Gohar Morad and Self-Imposed Death' was published after years of being banned. Jamshidi has another book titled 'Two-Person Photos' that is in the process of publication, but it is unclear if he has a copy of it. This book is the result of forty years of his writing and memories, which he spent years preparing. Ismail Jamshidi is 60 years old and lives in Tehran with his wife and three children. Last week, Iraj Jamshidi (editor of the Asia newspaper), Ismail's brother, was arrested and imprisoned for publishing a photo of Maryam Rajavi. It should be noted that Ismail Jamshidi has not collaborated with his brother, but the arrest of writers during periods of political turmoil continues to thicken the bloody and insulting file of serial killings. Jamshidi's abduction is a warning sign that once again shows that writers and poets in Iran do not have personal and professional security.