Iran Remains Second Largest Jailer of Writers Worldwide

The site, close to the famed ruins of Persepolis, is home to the tombs of Achaemenid kings such as Darius the Great and Xerxes and showcases a vast array of rock reliefs from various Iranian dynasties.

Extensive subsidence has occurred with fissures reaching depths of 50 to 70 centimeters and forming within 10 to 15 meters of these invaluable historical monuments. Despite efforts to fill the cracks annually with sand and gravel, they persistently reappear, posing a continuous threat to the stability of the rock face and the ancient artworks it houses.

Iran claims teams specializing in monitoring, protection, restoration, and archeology have been urgently deployed to manage and mitigate the impact of the environmental damage. "We are committed to preserving this cornerstone of Iranian cultural heritage," Alireza Askari, an official of the complex said on Friday.

The preservation of the sites has been a contentious issue in Iran, particularly since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which saw a shift in the attitude towards relics predating the Islamic era.

Just last month, the Deputy Minister of Iran's Cultural Heritage expressed concern about a lack of funds for maintaining critical sites.

“Last year, the financial resources allocated to the preservation and restoration of historical sites were 900,000 Tomans ($200) and monuments 13 million Tomans ($3,000),” Ali Darabi said. “The fact that all this historical greatness and cultural heritage should be preserved and restored with this minimal budget is beyond me.”

With 27 sites, Iran ranks among the top 10 countries with the most cultural heritage sites in UNESCO's World Heritage List but amid a massive economic crisis, the regime has sidelined the country's cultural past in favor of prioritizing its military budget. 

Dozens gathered in Perth, Australia in a bid to raise awareness of the artist's imminent execution. Around 70,000 Iranian-born expatriates reside in Australia where the community continues to grow amid rising numbers of Iranians fleeing the regime. 

At a revolutionary court last week, the outspoken artist who has become one of the faces of the 2022 uprising, was sentenced to death for supporting anti-government protests, charges that his lawyer, Amir Raeisian, claims were previously dismissed.

The Iranian diaspora has since protested and demanded his release on four continents, from Australia to Europe and North America.

Salehi's opposition songs became emblematic of the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom movement, sparked by the death in the custody of Mahsa Jina Amini for the alleged improper wearing of her headscarf in 2022.

Following his sentence, a worldwide outcry has erupted. Politicians, including the US State Department and Australian, Canadian, and French ministers, and organizations, such as the United Nations and Amnesty International, have since condemned his harsh verdict.

Activists and political prisoners, such as Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, have also expressed concern about Salehi's imminent execution.

Mahsa Amini's mother, the icon of the nationwide protests, also condemned the outspoken rapper’s harsh sentence: “Let Toomaj breathe so that his mother and the mothers of my land don't die.”

In the latest attempt on the domestic front, hundreds of Iran-Iraq war veterans and their families appealed to Iran's leaders not to execute Salehi amid Iran's record numbers of executions in the wake of the uprising which has posed the biggest threat to the regime since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. 

Through a statement on the Farsi account of the US Department of State on the social network X, Washington praised the journalists: "Despite the regime's efforts, the courage of journalists like Niloufar Hamedi, Elahe Mohammadi, and Nazila Maroufian is what brings awareness to the Iranians. We admire these journalists and all the journalists around the world who report under difficult circumstances."

Both Mohammadi and Hamedi were previously detained following their reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in custody of Iran's morality police in 2022—an event that sparked widespread protests. After enduring more than a year of temporary detention, they were sentenced to long prison terms, although the Tehran Appeals Court later converted their bail, leading to their release.

Nazila Maroufian was arrested multiple times since the 2022 uprising, and was sexually assaulted by regime forces in what Iran's Me Too movement calls a systematic weapon against women of sexual abuse and assault.

However, the judiciary has recently opened a new case against them for publishing pictures without the mandatory hijab following their release as crackdowns on the Islamic dress code continue to worsen in what the UN has branded 'gender apartheid' against Iranian women and girls. 

Reporters Without Borders this weekend criticized Iran, where at least 23 journalists are currently imprisoned, for its harsh treatment of the press, ranking 176th of 180 alongside countries like North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea.

Iran remains the second highest country to imprison writers, second only to China, according to the latest 2023 Freedom to Write Index, released on Friday by PEN America, the same as its dismal ranking in last year's report.

While the leaders of the Islamic Republic have been reluctant to acknowledge the divide, especially in the wake of recurring nationwide protests, their occasional remarks regarding existing problems suggest a growing recognition of the issue.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's this week urged Iranian teachers to try to encourage students to adhere to his brand of anti-Americanism and antisemitism. Was certainly an indication that he knows he is not on the same page with young Iranians who are generally openminded, tolerant and most certainly not antisemitic.

One of Iran's former Higher Education Ministers, Mostafa Moeen, has said based on a major study conducted by the government about prevailing values and attitudes that “60 to 70 percent of Iranians do not trust government institutions and that politicians are among the least trusted individuals among other Iranians."

Moeen also referenced the study's findings, highlighting that 60 to 70 percent of Iranians lack trust in government-controlled media, including state-run television channels that echo Khamenei's rhetoric. Additionally, he noted that the study reveals even greater distrust of the parliament compared to the government in general.

According to conservative commentator Mohammad Mohajeri, although a key reason for the distrust is the government's inability to solve economic problems, even an improvement in this regard cannot mend the divide between the people and government.

Mohajeri remarked that the current divide seems deeper and more profound, with officials attributing the rift to the people's excessive demands, while citizens argue that officials consistently overlook the nation's issues. Furthermore, officials make promises they cannot fulfill.

He emphasized that Iranians' mistrust of state officials is a longstanding issue, not merely a recent development. Mohajeri recalled how observers and experts have cautioned about the widening gap between the people and officials, as well as the decline in the government's social capital since the 1990s.

The conservative commentator added that the difference between the people's liberal ideas and the officials' hardline policies and revolutionary approaches contributed to the crisis. Mohajeri said that the disputed 2009 presidential election and the ensuing bipolar situation was a major turning point in the confrontation between the people and the government. He was referring to Khamenei's biased support for Ahmadinejad while the people and moderate politicians insisted that he was elected in a rigged election.

He noted that following the 2019 protests, during which government forces killed hundreds of protesters, people initiated a negative campaign by abstaining from elections and boycotting government-sponsored political rallies. Simultaneously, the worsening economic crisis and the government's reluctance to implement reforms exacerbated the division. Consequently, society was engulfed by despair, eroding trust in the government and hope for the future.

Meanwhile, prominent sociologist Amanollah Gharai has told Nameh News website in Tehran that the divide between the people and government is the outcome of a decline in Iran's middle class. He said, traditionally, the middle class works like a shield between the ruling class and the working class.

Gharaei pointed out, "Rising prices, inflation, and other economic woes have pushed individuals from the upper middle class into lower socioeconomic strata." He elaborated that educated individuals, academics, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople comprise the middle class, which communicates messages and information to the impoverished lower class. When the middle class becomes discontented, instead of acting as a buffer, it joins protest movements and encourages the lower class to participate."

He further stated, "Today, information dissemination faces no barriers, and everyone is aware of societal happenings. When impoverished individuals learn of corruption among those in power, they are compelled to revolt and protest."

Shakarami became a prominent figure in the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising following her death in 2022, which came amid nationwide protests. She was arrested after she was filmed burning her hijab.

"Canada reiterates its firm opposition to the suppression of human rights, including rights to freedom of assembly and association, and we continue to stand with the people of Iran as they demand justice and full respect for their human rights," a Global Affairs Canada Corporate spokesperson told Iran International’s Mahsa Mortazavi.

The spokesperson also told Iran International Canada reiterates its strong support for the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, tasked with independently investigating the human rights violations linked to the protests that began in September 2022, with a particular focus on women and children.

A recent BBC investigation has exposed a "highly confidential" document that implicates three security personnel in the direct sexual assault and murder of Shakarami. The investigation revealed a disturbing sequence of events leading to her death, including an officer forcibly restraining her while others sexually assaulted her and beat her with batons. Despite her resistance, the assault ended fatally, and the regime later falsely claimed she had committed suicide.

The death of Shakarami followed shortly after the death of Mahsa Amini in morality-police custody for defying hijab laws which ignited nationwide protests. The Iranian government continues its crackdown on mandatory hijab with ever worsening oppression of women and girls, branded 'gender apartheid' by the UN.