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IRAN: PEN mourns the death of journalist and critic Siamak Pourzand
PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) | 10 May 2011 RAN 12/11
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International mourns the tragic death on 29 April 2011 of journalist and critic Siamak Pourzand. Pourzand reportedly committed suicide after years of house arrest and isolation in his home in Tehran. PEN is deeply saddened by Pourzand’s death and extends its sincere condolences to his family.
The following is a press release issued by PEN America on 3 May 2011:
PEN American Center joined with free expression champions around the world today in mourning the death of journalist and critic Siamak Pourzand, who reportedly committed suicide on Sunday following years of house arrest in his apartment in Tehran. Speaking today on behalf of the organization's board and membership, PEN American Center President Kwame Anthony Appiah paid tribute to Pourzand's "heroic, decades-long struggle for press freedom in Iran," calling the 80-year-old journalist's suicide "devastating evidence of the human toll of years of inhuman repression" and "a tragedy that should stir reflection and action both inside and outside Iran."
"Our thoughts today are with Mr. Pourzand's wife, the brave human rights lawyer Merhangiz Kar, with his daughters, and with the thousands of families in Iran that have borne the brunt of a regime that again and again shows itself willing to terrorize its own people," Appiah said. "At a time when men and women are finding their voices and crying out for dignity and basic rights throughout the region, Pourzand's despair offers a disturbing measure of how arrested and isolated the Iranian regime now seems. We honor his life's work, we mourn this terrible loss, and we stand with all those who have endured so much in the struggle for freedom of expression and fundamental human rights in Iran."
A journalist and cultural critic whose career spanned half a century, Siamak Pourzand was abducted by Iranian authorities in November 2001, held for months in secret detention, where he was interrogated and tortured, and finally tried and sentenced in May 2002 to an 11-year prison term for "undermining state security through his links with monarchists and counter-revolutionaries." With his health failing, he was eventually released on medical parole, but was barred from traveling outside of Iran to visit his wife and daughters and has remained under house arrest in Tehran. He reportedly committed suicide by leaping from the balcony of his apartment on April 29, 2011. Pourzand was an Honorary Member of PEN American Center, PEN Canada, and the Norwegian PEN Center.
READ:
A letter to her father by Azadeh Pourzand:
For further background on Siamak Pourzand’s life see the following links:
- http://en.rsf.org/iran-iranian-authorities-responsible-02-05-2011,40211.html
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@pen-international.org
Cathy McCann
Researcher, Asia/Middle East
PEN International Writers in Prison Committee
Brownlow House
50-51 High Holborn
London WC1V 6ER.
Tel.+44 (0)20 7405 0338
Fax: +44 (0)20 7405 0339
http://www.pen-international.org
Please note my email address has changed to cathy.mccann@pen-international.org
International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered inEnglandandWaleswith registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity inEnglandandWaleswith registration number 1117088. International PEN’s registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn,London, WC1V 6ER,UK.
