Kamran Takuk
Takuk, a Kurdish poet, was arrested on January 11, 2022, and then released on bail 6 days later. He was convicted on February 21, 2022 and sentenced to 28… More
Aida Amidi
A poet and a member of the Iranian Writers' Association, Amidi was arrested at her home and taken to an undisclosed location on December 5, 2022. After hours of… More
Ali Ahmadzadeh
Iranian filmmaker and diretor Ahmadzadeh was arrested in Tehran on unknown charges on August 31, 2022. He was then released on September 3. He says that he is still… More
Ali Asadollahi
A noted poet and the secretary of the Iranian Writers' Association, Asadollahi was detained on November 21, 2022 after he had published poems on his website about a teenager… More
Alireza Adineh
A poet and member of the Iranian Writers' Association, Adineh was arrested on November 30, 2022, a week after he was summoned for questioning by the Ministry of Information… More
Keyvan Mohtadi
Mohtadi is a writer, translator, and labor activist. In recent years, his membership in the Iranian Writers’ Association and support of workers' rights have made him a target. On… More
PEN America Demands the Immediate Release of Kurdish Rapper Saman Yasin After Request for Amnesty Was Denied
"Our hearts go out to Yasin and his family and friends, and we urge the Iranian authorities to grant him amnesty and release him from prison at once,” said… More
PEN Network Welcomes Release of Iranian Writers Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Calls for Release of Other Members of the Iranian Writers’ Association
As members of the global PEN network, we call for the Iranian authorities to cease harassing and investigating members of the IWA, to unconditionally drop all politically-motivated charges against… More
Celebrating Reza Khandan Mahabadi’s Release From Prison in Iran, PEN America Calls for Release of Other Iranian Writers Wrongly Jailed
Reza Khandan Mahabadi is a leading member of the Iranian Writers Association (IWA), prolific author and researcher, who was given a six-year prison term in 2019 and has been… More
PEN America Condemns Prison Summons Issued to Reza Khandan, Husband to Prominent Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
(NEW YORK)—In response to the news that Reza Khandan--the husband of prominent human rights lawyer, writer, and PEN America 2011 Freedom to Write honoree Nasrin Sotoudeh--has been summoned to prison… More