A group of artists, writers, and cultural practitioners called “Art Culture Action Association” have written a statement condemning state violence against Iranian people and demanding an immediate end to all threats, detentions, and killings.
 
I am going to read a part of this statement for you, but you can scan this QR code which you see on the screen with your phone and sign it.

We hope you’ll add your voice and sign the statement. Also, please share this with your colleagues and friends.

Led by women, Iranians from all walks of life have demonstrated determination in standing against state brutality in the past hundred thirty-seven days since the killing of 22-years-old woman, Zhina Mahsa Amini, at the hands of the Islamic state in Iran. What began as a protest against mandatory hejab and decades of systemic human rights violations has now turned into the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, demanding the end of the theocratic rule by an unelected clerical system in Iran.

We, artists, writers, academics, and cultural practitioners from across disciplines and various countries, support the call of our Iranian colleagues to stand in solidarity with their struggle against the repressive and despotic Islamic state in Iran. We, the undersigned, unreservedly acknowledge and support the courage of all the women, men, and children of Iran in their fight for fundamental human rights and their clearly expressed desire to renew the nation’s social contract.

We air our grave concern not only for our colleagues and students in the arts and cultural spheres, but for citizens from all over the country who face an increasingly brutal, violent, and deadly state crackdown, with kidnappings, disappearances, imprisonments, and multiple forms of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, torture, and open threats of mass executions.

We recognise that the recent terror is not an isolated event. Over the last 44 years, the Islamic state’s machinery has resorted to all manner of social and cultural injustice, including the oppression of ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities, as well as legally sanctioned misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia. Since its inception, the theocratic system of law in Iran, controlled by the Supreme Leader and backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its network of oligarchs, has conducted the extermination of those who stand against it. Those acts must be recognised as crimes against humanity; their perpetrators must face the international courts of law.

This statement is already signed by great artists, writers and academics. By scanning this QR CODE you can get more informations about what this statement demands you to sign up for.

Abandoning political prisoners, and being silent about what they endure, would only benefit the repressive regime. That’s why the artistic community of Iran, as part of Iran’s civil society, follows the situation of the prisoners and seeks justice for the victims of the progressive revolution “Woman, Life, Freedom”, including their imprisoned and murdered peers.
 
Donya Farhadi, an architecture student, participated in on-campus protests on December 7. She had an argument with the university’s Basij agents. Later, her family saw her blood on the ground by the Karoon Bridge. Four days later, her body was found by fishermen at Koot Abdullah; she had been shot to death. Mohsen Jafari-Rad, a film critic and documentary maker, was arrested during protests in Karaj. He remained in detention for two weeks. After he was released, he committed suicide, or was “suicided”. Mehdi Bahman, a writer and painter, was arrested on October 11 and transferred to Evin prison. Tehran’s illegal Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death. Behrad Alikenari, a dissident rapper from Ahvaz, was arrested after participating in the 40-day memorial of Hadis Najafi, one of the victims of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” revolution. He faced some nonsensical and illusory charges such as “Spreading Corruption on Earth” which carries the death penalty. Hossein Mohammadi was also arrested in that memorial, faced the same charge in the illegal Revolutionary Court of Karaj, and was sentenced to death. These are just the tip of the iceberg of the atrocities committed by the security forces against Iranian people and artists.

Recently “Art Culture Action Association” published a list of artists who have been tortured, jailed or are out on bail, since the beginning of this revolutionary movement and I added a few more names of our colleagues who are facing prison sentences even before this revolutionary movement. The number has reached 173 people. However, the actual number is much higher as many families and friends were forced to keep silent and not seek justice due to the pressure and threats from the brutal security forces.
 
We demand their immediate and unconditional release, cancellation of unjust and group sentences, abolition of the death penalty, and investigation by international institutions of torture and murders committed in prisons.

Zar Amir Ebrahimi then read the following names during the manifestation:
 
Anonymous (Rapper)        
Leila Abbasi (Artist and Women’s Rights Activist)
Taraneh Abdollahi (Musician and Art Student)
Reza Abdulrezaie Anari (Art Student)
Faezeh Aein (Filmmaker and Set Designer)
Navid Afgheh (Musician)
Sahand Aghajani (Dancer)
Zahra Alamdari (Art Student)Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Mostafa Aleahmad (Filmmaker)
Behrad Alikenari (Rapper)
Taraneh Alidousti (Actor)
Shaghayegh Alizadeh (Art Student)
Mahtab Ansarian (Art Student)
Javad Asefi (Musician)
Ali Atabaki (Singer and Composer)
Atrin Azarfar (Artist and Photographer)
Sahar Azarpira (Art Student)
Zahra Azimi (Art Student)
Mehdi Azin (Cartoonist)
Farhan Azizi (Actor)
Manijeh Azizi (Costume Designer)
Zanyar Azizi (Filmmaker and Artist)
Samaneh Babazadeh (Actor)
Atefeh Badiei (Art Blogger)
Mehdi Bahman (Writer and Illustrator)
Kamyar Bamdad (Comedian and Artist)
Amir Hossein Barimani (Poet and Art Student)
Amin Baset (Photographer)
Elaheh Bayramian (Actor)
Nargess Behyari (Photographer)
Mohammad Beygimanesh (Art Student)
Sasan Chamanara (Artist)
Isa Choulandim (Artist and Graphic Designer)
Azadeh Dehghani (Translator, Artist and Filmmaker)
Afaf Ebadi (Photographer)
Nima Ebrahimi (Actor)
Donya Farhadi (Architecture Student)
Javad Faryadian (Artist)
Saeed Fayzi (Musician)
Sara Fereshteh Sani’ie (Artist)
Sepehr Gershasbi (Music Band Manager)
Rojan Ghaderi (Painter)
Fatemeh Gharib (Painter)
Emad Ghavidel (Rapper)
Hengameh Ghaziani (Actor)
Ahmad Gholami Mehrabadi (Graphic Designer and Writer)
Soheila Golestani (Actor and Director)
Niyousha Goudarzi (Art Student)
Fatemeh Naazi Habibi (Actor and Graphic Designer)
Bita Haghani (Blogger and Art Student)
Jasmin Haj Mirza Mohammadi (Craftsman and Artist)
Sareh Hajipour Rostami (Animator)
Shervin Hajipour (Singer)
Ahmad Halabisaz (Photographer)
Setareh Hamzei (Photographer)
Hessam Hasanabadi (Filmmaker and Cinematographer)
Melika Hashemi (Art Student)
Servin Heydari (Art Student)
Farnaz Hosseinzadeh (Costume Designer)
Mehdi Hosseini (Theatre Director and Actor)
Mojgan Inanlou (Photographer and Filmmaker)
Ali Reza Izadi (Writer, Theatre Director and Filmmaker)
Mandana Jabari (Writer and Theatre Director)
Arya Jafari (Photojournalist)
Mohsen Jafari Raad (Critic and Filmmaker)
Noushin Jafari (Photographer)
Mohammad Mehdi Jalilvand (Art Student)
Mehdi Jeladat (Artist)
Mohammadali Kaashi (Rapper)
Azadeh Karami (Artist)
Adel Karimi (Photographer and Filmmaker)
Mohammad Ali Kashi (Rapper)
Mojgan Kavousi (Translator, Writer and Director)
Reza Keshavarzi (Painter and Poet)
Amir Khadem (Actor)
Siavash Khadem Hosseini (Actor)
Mohammadjavad Khajouvei (Art Student)
Erfan Khalilian (Musician)
Badie Khazei (Actor)
Fazeleh Khorasani Taheri (Industrial Designer)
Masoumeh Khorasani Taheri (Art Student)
Nazanin Kianbakht (Art Student)
Asal Lebaschi (Actor and Theatre Director)
Bavan Lotfi (Art Student)
Seyed Mostafa Madani (Art Student)
Mostafa Mahboubi (Composer)
Abbas Mahmoudinejad (Musician)
Nasim Mardoukhi (Artist)
Naataan Masih (Art Student)
Mohammad Matin Jafari (Musician)
Sepehr Mera’t (Architect)
Mahmoud Mirzaei (Musician and Conductor)             
Hadi Abbas Mirzaie (Musician, Writer and Artist)
Niloufar Mirzaiee Bafti (Art Student)
Yalda Moayyeri (Photographer)
Elham Moddaresi (Painter)
Amir Moghareh (Singer)
Pegah Moghimi (Graphic Designer)
Fatemeh Mohammadi (Art Student)
Hossein Mohammadi (Actor)
Maryam Mohammadvand (Actor and Playwright)
Baran Mohebbi (Art Student)
Armin Mokhtari (Painter)
Pouya Molazem (Artist)
Maryam Momeni (Actor)
Monireh  Montazeri (Photographer)
Vahid Mousavi (Singer)
Shiva Mousazadeh (Art Student)
Ansieh Mousavi (Architect and Painter)
Neda Naaji (Actor, Women and Workers Rights Activist)
Fardin Naji (Singer)
Mahtab Nasirpour (Actor)
Farahnaz Nazeri (Artist and Photographer)
Hamid Nikkhah (Graphic Designer and Artist)
Mohsen Nikmanesh (Graphic Design Student)
Hossein Padegan (Actor)
Jafar Panahi (Filmmaker)
Mohammad Pardebaaf (Art Student)
Vajihe Pari Zanganeh         (Graphic Designer)
Hamaseh Parsa (Director)
Elham Pavehnejad (Actor)
Kimiya Pirmoradi (Graphic Designer)
Nima Pirmoradi (Architect)
Hamid Pourazari (Director)
Amirhossein Rahimi (Theatre Director)
Elmira Rahmani (Artist and Musician)
Shahin Rahmati (Hip Hop Singer)
Elaheh Ramezani (Art Student)
Mohammad Ramezani (Photographer and Educator)
Ramin Ramezanian (Artist)
Mohammad Rasoulof (Filmmaker)
Katayoun Riahi (Actor)
Farhang Roshani (Writer, Poet and Theatre Director)
Mohammad Rozazian (Translator and Filmmaker)
Amir Saatchi (Theater Director)
Sarina Sadeghi (Graphic Design Student)
Mohammadamin Saedi (Artist)
Sepideh Salarvand (Filmmaker)
Toumaj Salehi (Rapper)
Shahin Samadpour (Journalist and Filmmaker)
Shirin Samedi (Artist and Former TV Anchor)
Aran Samimi (Art Student)
Farinaz Sarraf (Director, Actor, Children Ballet and Music Teacher)
Hadi Sepehri (Musician, Music School Manager)
Shiva Sha’bani (Filmmaker)
Arash Shahbazi (Actor)
Atash Shakarami (Painter)
Atefeh Shamaasi (Artist)
Hiro Sheikhalislami (Painter)
Dena Sheybani (Graphic Designer)
Agerin Shirbeygi (Rapper)
Mahtab Shekarian (Actor)
Mohammad Siamaknia (Director and Filmmaker)
Jakav Nima Soltani (Handicraft Student)
Nima Soltani (Art Student)
Karim Soleimani (Poet, Playwright and Theatre Director)
Mahdieh Soleymani (Art Student)
Mehdi Sufali (Music Producer)
Amirali Taheri Rahim (Rapper)
Mohhamad Reza Talebi (Art Student)
Reyhaneh Taravati (Photographer)
Pardis Tavakoli (Art Student)
Mohammad Vafaei (Art Student)
Hamidreza Vaghef (Musician and Educator)
Alireza Vahdani (Photographer)
Naeim Vahidiyan (Animator)
Saman Yasin (Rapper)
Nik Yousefi (Filmmaker and Editor)
Ameneh Zamani (Artist and Activist)