Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari
Outspoken critic of Iran's theocracy Eshkevari was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2000 upon return from a conference at which Iranian social and political reform was debated.… More
Shahla Lahiji
A pioneering publisher, Lahiji was arrested in 2000 upon her return from a conference. She was charged with spreading anti-state propaganda for criticizing Iran’s policies toward women. She was… More
Nasser Zarafshan
Distinguished lawyer and writer Zarafshan was arrested in 2000 after giving a speech alleging that the intelligence services had murdered five intellectuals in 1998. Though a civilian, he was… More
Bigeldy Gabdullin
President of the Kazakh PEN Club, Gabdullin was detained in November 2016 after a career of criticizing government officials in the media. He pled guilty to charges of extortion… More
Sepideh Jodeyri
Jodeyri's translation of Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh into Persian made her persona non grata in Iran. Already facing a campaign of public persecution for her… More
Arash Ganji
Ganji, a writer, translator, and secretary of the Iranian Writers Association, was detained for 29 days in late 2019. He was sentenced in 2020 to 11 years in prison… More
Fatima Naoot
Long famous for her politically-charged poetry, Naoot was sentenced to three years in prison in 2016 for defaming Islam in a Facebook post critical of the Eid al-Adha tradition… More
Tashi Wangchuk
Tashi has publicly advocated for Tibetan language rights, drawing persecution from the state. In 2016, he was secretly detained and held incommunicado for two months. Sentenced to five years… More
Zoran Mutić
A prominent translator who protested the rise of Serbian nationalism during the Balkan Wars, Mutić fled Sarajevo in 1992, just before the siege of the Bosnian capital by the… More
Natalia Mallo
Mallo faces police harassment, death and rape threats, and attempted physical attacks in Brazil for directing O Segundo Jesus, Rainha do Céu, a play that explores the multiplicity of… More
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