Prevention of Commemoration Ceremony for Ahmad Shamlou's Death

Reports indicate that security forces prevented a commemoration ceremony for Ahmad Shamlou on Tuesday, August 2, at the Imamzadeh Taher cemetery in Karaj, Alborz province. Informed sources told Radio Farda that security forces closed the gates of the Imamzadeh Taher cemetery and did not allow the poet's admirers to gather at his grave. The ceremony was supposed to be held at the invitation of the Iranian Writers' Association. Social media reports also indicate that during these events, Ali Kakavand and Roozbeh Soohani, two members of the Iranian Writers' Association, were arrested by security forces. In this context, an informed source told Radio Farda that Roozbeh Soohani has been released, but there is still no news about Ali Kakavand's status. According to these reports, even after the crowd dispersed, the cemetery gates remained closed. In previous years, security forces have repeatedly prevented the commemoration of this famous Iranian poet's death anniversary. For instance, last year, on the seventeenth anniversary of Ahmad Shamlou's death, hundreds of his admirers intended to gather at his tomb to honor his memory, but security forces obstructed the ceremony. Ahmad Shamlou, a poet, writer, journalist, and translator, was born in Tehran in 1925 and passed away on August 2, 2000, after a long illness at Iran Mehr Hospital in Tehran. He is buried at Imamzadeh Taher in Mehrshahr, Karaj, west of Tehran.