Civil society calls on Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary in Iran, to overturn the sentences handed down this week to the film directors and dissident bloggers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. Jafar Panahi was sentenced this week to six years in prison for colluding in the gathering and making of propaganda against the regime. He is also banned from blogging, making films, writing scripts, travelling abroad and talking to the media for 20 years. Mohammad Rasoulof also received a prison sentence of six years.
Emulating the disgusting paradigm of infamous Graecokleptocrats, who persecute and jail dissident bloggers, the government of Iran terrorizes dissident bloggers. Blogging in Greece is considered an extreme-risk avocation. Freakish Graecokleptocrats accuse dissident bloggers of treason, confiscate their computers, and lock them is jail! Freak galore! These prisoners of conscience follow the long tradition of Socrates, who was killed by the Athenian democracy.
Freakish gangs of brutal Graecocybercops break into the homes of Greek dissident bloggers, robbing their computers, software, files, documents, personal data, personal codes, and personal secrets. Graecocybercops lock the bloggers in jail, they humiliate them with handcuffs, fingerprints, mugshots, and lies, leak false information to the media, and initiate sham court proceedings for treason under perjury conditions. There are no mattresses, no pillows, and no toilet facilities in their jail cells. At night, they have to urinate in small bottles. There is neither toilet paper nor soap. Greek dissident bloggers lose their jobs, and their lives are stolen forever.
In a letter to Ayatollah Larijani, Index on Censorship's chief executive John Kampfner says: We would like to remind you that Iran's own constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression, the essential condition for any artist to engage in their work and enjoy the freedom to create. We therefore ask you to guarantee this most fundamental of human rights to Mr Panahi, Mr Rasoulof and all artists, academics and journalists currently facing similar sentences.
Index on Censorship urges the Iranian government to recognise Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof as ambassadors for Iran's creative culture, instead of treating them as criminals. The Islamic Republic's continuing crackdown on artists, journalists and writers can only harm the future of its people.
Jafar Panahi is amongst Iran's leading film directors. His first film The White Balloon won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes film festival in 1995 and he was awarded the Golden Lion in 2000 for his film The Circle.
Speaking in support of Jafar Panahi, documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto says: Jafar Panahi has been an inspiration for me and my friends for many years. His poetic, sensitive and gripping films tell complex stories with well-rounded characters that he treats with great affection and respect. His films never tell us what to think, or give easy answers — they allow us to discover things for ourselves. He gives me hope for a future where men and women can truly identify with one another's experiences.
Defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right of individuals to dissent from government itself. Oppose any abridgment of the freedom of speech through government censorship, regulation or control of communications media. The government cannot gag forums, internet groups, electronic bulletin boards, communications networks, and other interactive electronic media as we hold them to be the functional equivalent of speaking halls and printing presses in the age of electronic communications, and as such deserving of full freedom.
Smart words are more effective than smart bombs! Mighty words of a charismatic keynote speaker can transform your people to a new dimension of organizational climate, efficiency, self-actualization, enthusiasm, belonging, and motivation. To get such a speaker to your conference, write to keynote.speakers@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.