Marzieh Rasouli () is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

journalist who writes about culture and the arts for several of Iran's reformist and independent publications. In 2012 the Iranian authorities arrested her and accused her of collaborating with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. In 2014 she was convicted of "spreading propaganda" and "disturbing the public order". Sentenced to two years in prison and 50 lashes, she was taken to

Evin prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

on July 8, 2014.

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

called for her "immediate and unconditional" release. Marzieh Rasouli's sentence was reduced on appeal to one year in prison, and on October 19, 2014, she was released from prison.

Journalism

Prior to her imprisonment, Rasouli wrote on culture and the arts for reformist publications. Her work appeared in

Shargh ''Shargh'' (; also as ''Sharq'') is one of the most popular Reformist daily newspapers in Iran. The owner iMehdi Rahmanian the editor-in-chief of the newspaper iAli Dehghanand the editor-in-chief of online iSina Rahimpour History and profil ...

, where she edited the newspaper's music pages, and in other reformist newspapers including ''

Etemaad ''Etemad'' or ''Etemaad'' () is a Persian-language reformist newspaper based in Iran that is published in Tehran. It is managed by Elias Hazrati, who was representative from Rasht and Tehran in the Parliament of Iran. Overview The first edi ...

'' and ''Roozegar''. She also has a blog titled ''3rouzpish'' (Three Days Ago).

Arrest, conviction, and imprisonment

Rasouli was arrested at her

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

home in January 2012 during the run-up to Iranian parliamentary elections. It was reported that the accusation on the arrest warrant was "acting against national security". She was held for six weeks in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

in Tehran's

. Prior to the release of Rasouli and two other leading women journalists who had also been arrested the same month, the

Iranian Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...

' Cyber-Crimes website ''Gerdab'' published a statement accusing them of "collaborating with the BBC, British intelligence and the foreign-based opposition." The satellite-broadcast

BBC Persian Television BBC Persian Television ( Televizion-e Fârsi-ye BBC) is the BBC's Persian language news channel that was launched on 14 January 2009. The service is broadcast by satellite and is also available online. It is aimed at the 120 million Persian-sp ...

service is banned in Iran. On February 27, 2012, Rasouli was released on a bail of 2 billion Iranian Rials ($300,000). PEN International reported that Rasouli was "briefly detained in January 2013, together with 18 other journalists working for reformist media outlets." In July 2014, she was convicted of "spreading propaganda" against the Iranian regime and "disturbing public order". Sentenced to two years imprisonment and 50 lashes, she returned to Evin to begin serving her sentence on July 8, 2014. On July 16, 2014, citing Article 19 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

, to which Iran is a party, PEN issued a call for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Rasouli and "all other writers currently similarly detained in Iran in connection with their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and assembly". PEN also called for Rasouli's sentence of 50 lashes to be "overturned immediately as it violates the absolute prohibition in international law against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Among the personalities who called for the journalist's release and denounced the Iranian regime was Noam Chomsky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasouli, Marzieh Journalists imprisoned in Iran Iranian women journalists Iranian journalists Iranian music journalists Iranian bloggers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Iranian women bloggers Inmates of Evin Prison