Two Iranian Composers and an Independent Filmmaker Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison

Following the news of the release of Yaghma Golrouyi, an Iranian poet and lyricist, some websites reported on Thursday, December 19, that two composers and an independent filmmaker who were arrested for allegedly running an 'underground music' website have been sentenced to a total of '18 years' in prison. According to the 'Kaleme' website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Rajabian, a composer and founder of the 'Barg Music' website, Youssef Emadi, a composer, and Hossein Rajabian, an independent filmmaker and photographer, were each sentenced to 'six years in prison and several million tomans in fines' for charges such as 'insulting sacred beliefs and propaganda against the regime'. These sentences were issued by Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh, and the case of these three individuals is currently under review in Branch 54 of the Court of Appeals. Mehdi Rajabian, along with his brother Hossein Rajabian and Youssef Emadi, were arrested in October 2013 at their studio and office. The three were released after enduring two months in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on a bail of two hundred million tomans. The 'Barg Music' website is referred to as a platform for 'producing, publishing, and promoting Iranian underground music'. On Wednesday, December 20, Kaleme reported 'intense pressure' on these three individuals for televised confessions. Meanwhile, over 400 people, including dozens of music activists, have signed a letter addressed to Ali Jannati, Iran's Minister of Culture, demanding the release of these three individuals. On the same Wednesday, the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, reported that Yaghma Golrouyi, the Iranian poet and lyricist, was released after 10 days of detention upon posting bail. Golrouyi was arrested on Tuesday, December 9. His lyrics have been used by many singers inside and outside the country, including Siavash Ghomayshi, Shahram Nazeri, Shahin Najafi, and Reza Yazdani. Recently, Golrouyi performed a song titled 'Poem of Liberation' that contained a protest message regarding the status of women in Iran. Previously, poets Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari, known for their postmodern ghazals in Iran, were sentenced to long prison terms of 9 years and 11.5 years, along with 99 lashes. In this context, Yaghma Golrouyi was detained, and Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari were sentenced to long-term imprisonment and lashes. Kiwan Karimi, an Iranian documentary filmmaker, received 223 lashes and 6 years in prison. International organizations have protested against the 'heavy' judicial sentences for the two poets. 116 foreign poets have called on Mr. Khamenei to revoke the sentences of the two Iranian poets.