Iran Human RightsUnderground musicians jailed in Iran

Underground musicians jailed in Iran

-

London, 9 Jun – Three Iranian creatives have started three-year jail terms this week. Yousef Emadi, 35, and brothers Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian, 26 and 31, were found guilty in 2015 of “insulting Islamic sanctities”, “spreading propaganda against the system” and “illegal audio-visual activities” in relation to distributing unlicensed music.

The three worked together in the north Iranian city of Sari on the music website Barg Music, now blocked, and Hossein Rajabian’s film The Upside Down Triangle which tackles the issues surrounding women’s right to divorce in the country. The men had previously been sentenced to six years but this was reduced to three years in jail, three years suspended conditional on “good behaviour”, each has to pay a fine of 200m rials, the equivalent of £4,500.

The trio, whom Amnesty have called “prisoners of conscience”, were summoned to serve their sentence last week after an appeals court upheld their sentence.

Amnesty also said the men had suffered beatings and electric shocks before being released on bail. During this time confessions were extracted that were later used as evidence in their sentencing. The torture has left Mehdi Rajabian with muscular dystrophy and requires monthly MRI scans and regular shots. Medical treatment for political prisoners in Iran is often denied, refused or delayed, as such there are serious concerns for Mehdi.

Iran’s clamp down on “un-Islamic” culture and behaviour is well documented, with 7,000 morality police taking to Tehran’s street in the last few weeks in addition to the many political prisoners from trade unions and the fields journalism, teaching and law. Multiple political prisoners are currently taking part in hunger strikes, including the editor of daily newspaper Farhikhtegan Ehsan Mazandarani and Kurdish-Iranian journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand.

 

Latest news

Iran’s Regime Inches Toward Nuclear Weapons

Iran’s regime is once again at the center of a dangerous escalation of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. A...

US Congress Expresses Support for Iranian People’s Quest for a Democratic, Secular Republic

Several bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives have presented a resolution (H. RES. 100) supporting the Iranian...

Wave Of Poisoning Attacks Against Schools Leave Hundreds Sick

Iran has been shaken for three months by serial poisoning attacks against all-girls schools, which has left more than...

Iranian Security Forces Beat Baluch Doctor To Death

On Thursday, February 23, activists in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces reported the news of the death of Dr. Ebrahim...

World Powers Should Hear The Voice Of Iranians, Not Dictators And Their Remnants

Iran’s nationwide uprising continues despite its ups and down. The clerical system’s demise no longer seems a dream but...

The Rial Continues To Sink, Hits Record 500,000 Marks Against The Dollar

The US dollar increased in price by more than 11 percent in February and grew to more than 500,000...

Must read

Iran-backed group eyed attack on US bases in Iraq: general

AFP: Iranian-backed militants recently received specialist training inside Iran...

Daily links Iraq clashes to Iran’s internal scene

Iran Focus: The editor of the influential state-owned daily,...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you