Wet Zarafshan

Nasser Zarafshan ( Persian ناصر زرافشان; *  1946 ) is an Iranian writer , translator and lawyer.

Life

He became known internationally as the legal counsel for relatives of opposition writers who were victims of the so-called chain killings in Iran in 1998 . He was arrested in 2000 after accusing Iranian intelligence agencies of the crime. He was charged with disclosing confidential information about the murders. During a subsequent search, weapons and alcohol were found in his office, which, according to his account, had been foisted on him by the investigative authorities.

On March 19, 2002, although a civilian, he was sentenced in camera by a military court to five years' imprisonment, two years of which for revealing state secrets and three years for possession of weapons. In addition, 50 lashes were ordered against him for possession of alcohol .

He went on a hunger strike on June 7, 2005 to protest that he was denied medical treatment for acute liver disease while in detention . After his health deteriorated further, he received liver surgery in July 2005. On March 16, 2007, after serving his sentence, he was released.

In 2004 he was awarded the PEN / Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award by the American PEN , and in 2006 the Tucholsky Prize of the Swedish PEN in 2007 he received the Human Rights Prize of the German Association of Judges .

Web links

• Information from the American PEN ( memento of October 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
• Amnesty International: Letters Against Forgetting: Nasser Zarafshan ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
• “Nasser Zarafshan, Iran. Status: Released " (PEN America)