Sepideh Roshno: The Islamic Republic, like any other totalitarian regime, is deeply afraid of narrators

The American PEN Association criticized the summons of Sepideh Roshno to prison to serve her sentence and published a note from her stating: "The Islamic Republic, like any other totalitarian regime, is deeply afraid of narrators and even more than of the activists who narrate." The American PEN Association noted that Ms. Roshno wrote this note just a few days before the start of her prison term at Evin Prison and allowed this civil organization to publish it. Sepideh Roshno wrote: "The literature of struggle is sometimes a poem by Mohammad Mokhtari whispered under the breath, sometimes a song sung by Victor Jara, sometimes the engravings of a former prisoner on the wall of a solitary cell so that the new prisoner knows someone has been here before." According to this writer opposed to compulsory hijab, "In a totalitarian regime like the Islamic Republic, the literature of struggle is sometimes a simple narrative. In such regimes where media, press, and books are always censored to present a false image as truth, narratives play an important role in today’s struggle." She emphasized that "the Islamic Republic, like any other totalitarian regime, is deeply afraid of narrators and even more than of the activists who narrate," adding: "Narratives draw a red line for all these lies, especially in a regime that denies the disappearance and imprisonment of opponents." Sepideh Roshno added: "The fighter records everything that has happened to them honestly to serve as a document in history, to be a witness to humanity's decades-long struggle against tyranny and totalitarianism." She also noted: "Narrative is always part of the struggle, and the narrator is a fighter. A narrative is a great 'no' to lies. A great 'no' to silence." Ms. Roshno concluded: "As a writer, I have never thought that literature and narrative are separate from the struggle and resistance for human rights." The American PEN Association wrote about Sepideh Roshno: "Dissidents like Sepideh exemplify the role that writers and artists often play in defending human rights" and urged "writers and their allies around the world" to "share Sepideh's words on social media and speak out against her unjust imprisonment by the Iranian government and the dozens of writers who have been detained in Iran for freedom of expression." The American PEN Association previously stated that the Iranian judiciary had informed Sepideh Roshno, a civil activist and opponent of compulsory hijab, that she must report to Evin Prison to serve a sentence of 3 years and 7 months related to a case from 2022. Sepideh Roshno was arrested in July 2022 after protesting against "compulsory hijab" and resisting the interventions of a woman "enforcer of virtue" named "Raheh Rabiei" regarding her attire, and was forced to make a "forced confession" in front of the Islamic Republic's state television camera. She has a history of previous arrests and convictions due to her activism. Ms. Roshno's name appears on the BBC's list of the 100 inspiring and influential women of 2023. The American PEN Association noted that the writing freedom index from last year indicates that "Iran remains the second-largest prison for writers in the world, coming after China." According to the association's website, "While the number of imprisoned writers decreased from 57 in 2022 to 49 in 2023, the repeated imprisonment of writers like Sepideh, many of whom are linked to the women-life-freedom movement, highlights the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and speech." The American PEN Association stated: "Opposition in Iran, even when writers are released from detention, faces a range of restrictive conditions, including the possibility of re-arrest and limited job options."