November 22, 2024

(NEW YORK) – Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Tehran based Baha’i musician, Behrad Azargan. On August 3, 2024, Azargan was arrested and later sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in connection with his pursuit of the Baha’i faith – a religion which is not recognized by the Iranian government; charges included alleged involvement in educational activities against Islamic law, membership in anti-Islamic Republican groups, and spreading false information. 

Azargan’s personal items were confiscated when he was arrested and remain in the possession of the authorities. Azargan was also given a two-year travel ban and a ban on social media and internet usage. On November 22, 2024, an Appeals Court reduced Azargan’s sentence to 7 years imprisonment, while retaining Azargan’s travel and internet usage restrictions. The charges relating to his membership in anti-Islamic groups were dropped by the Appeals Court. 

“The reduction in Azargan’s sentencing is not enough. ARC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Azargan, who has been unjustly persecuted and denied his fundamental right to religious freedom,” said Julie Trébault, Executive Director of ARC. “The deliberate attacks on artists like Azargan, demonstrates the Iranian government’s brutal oppression of the country’s people and its steadfast denial of basic human rights, making it clear that anyone seeking to freely express themselves in Iran is unsafe.”

In the last few years several Iranian musicians and singers have been targeted, including Toomaj Salehi, who gained popularity after releasing a song for the “Women Life Freedom” protest movement. Although Salehi’s death sentence was overturned by Iran’s Supreme Court following an international campaign, he remains imprisoned while his case is returned to a lower court. 

ARC stands in solidarity with the people of Iran and calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all unjustly imprisoned artists and prisoners of conscience.

ABOUT ARC
Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) is an international organization committed to promoting and advancing artistic freedom worldwide. We work to protect artists and cultural workers who are at risk because of their creative expression, often connected to their identities or roles within their communities. ARC helps artists at risk overcome challenges like persecution, censorship, threats, and violence from both state and non-state actors.

Contact: Elias Ephron, eephron@artistsatriskconnection.org