P.E.N. Zentrum deutschsprachiger Autoren im Ausland

Letter from International P.E.N. to Ayatollah Khamenei

Writers from around the world, including International PEN President Jiri Grusa, today called on the Iranian government to release imprisoned dissident writer Akbar Ganji and all other writers currently detained or sentenced in Iran for their writings. The text of the letter is attached and given below:

Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 649 5880/ 774 2228

31 January 2006

Your Excellency,

We address Your Excellency as writers united in our concern for the well-being of our colleague Akbar Ganji, whose plight is representative of many other writers currently imprisoned for expressing their views in Iran.

Akbar Ganji, now aged 46, is serving a six-year prison sentence for his dissident writings. Ganji suffers from chronic asthma for which he has been repeatedly denied the required specialist medical care outside prison. He recently ended a two-month hunger strike during which his health severely deteriorated. He is said to be held in solitary confinement in the intelligence section of Evin prison and to be losing weight as a result of inadequate diet. He has severely restricted access to family visits, and his lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, co-founder of the Centre for Defense of Human Rights, was arrested on 30 July 2005 and remains detained. There have been alarming reports of torture and ill-treatment by security guards during Ganji's detention, most recently in September 2005. His condition is believed to be deteriorating.

We are sure that Your Excellency would agree that Akbar Ganji's present situation is intolerable and should be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Ganji is among nineteen writers currently detained or sentenced in Iran solely for their dissident writings, many serving lengthy prison terms. Allegations of torture, reports of ill-treatment and the repeated denial of medical care and basic human rights are common-place and apparently systemic. We call on the Iranian authorities to launch an immediate investigation into these allegations, and to take serious steps to address our concerns that detainees' basic human rights are being systemically abused.

We the undersigned are gravely concerned about reports of Ganji's deteriorating condition, and demand that he is granted immediate access to an independent medical examination and any necessary care by an independent doctor of his choice. We also call for a team of international observers to assess him. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Akbar Ganji. We also urge the release of all writers detained for their dissident writings in Iran in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.

We would appreciate your comments on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jiri Grusa
International President

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
International Secretary

Karin Clark
Chair, Writers in Prison Committee.

Alastair Niven, President of English PEN.
Francis King, International PEN President Emeritus and Vice President of English PEN.
Ronald Harwood, International PEN President Emeritus and Vice President of English PEN.
Margaret Drabble, Vice President of English PEN.
Michael Holroyd, Vice President of English PEN.
Claire Tomalin, Vice President of English PEN.
William Boyd Vice President of English PEN.
Sir Tom Stoppard, Vice-President of English PEN.
Alan Sillitoe, English PEN.
Alain de Botton, English PEN.

Kjell Olaf Jensen, President, Norwegian PEN
Elisabet W. Middelthon, Writers in Prison Committee Chair, Norwegian PEN.
Eugene Schoulgin, Norwegian writer and member of the Board of International PEN.
Aase Gjerdrum, Translator and Norwegian PEN member.

Björn Linnell, President, Swedish PEN.
Thomas von Vegesack, International PEN Vice-President and former President of Swedish PEN.
Per Wästberg, International PEN President Emeritus and former President of Swedish PEN.
Ljiljana Dufgran, former President of Swedish PEN.
Monica Nagler, former President of Swedish PEN.
Agneta Pleijel, former President of Swedish PEN.
Plus 41 other Swedish PEN members.

Edward Albee, American PEN.
Russell Banks, American PEN.
Ariel Dorfman, American PEN.
Eve Ensler, American PEN Centre Board.
Frances FitzGerald, American PEN Centre Board.
Jonathan Safran Foer, American PEN.
Jonathan Franzen, American PEN.
Philip Gourevitch, American PEN Centre Board.
Tony Kushner, American PEN.
Rick Moody, American PEN.
Grace Paley, American PEN.
Rose Styron, American PEN.
William Styron, American PEN.

Constance Rooke, President of PEN Canada.
Graeme Gibson, former President of PEN Canada.
Katherine Govier, former President of PEN Canada.
Reza Baraheni, former President of PEN Canada.
John Ralston Saul, former President of PEN Canada.
Ann Ireland, former President of PEN Canada.
Marion Botsford Fraser, former President of PEN Canada.
Alison Gordon, former President of PEN Canada.
Eugene Benson, former President of PEN Canada.
Nino Ricci, former President of PEN Canada.