Freemuse and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran have written a letter responding to the increased crackdown on artists in Iran. The letter, also signed by ACAR as member of Artists Rights Justice network,  expresses concern about the imprisonment in 2013 and sentencing in 2015 of musicians Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Emadi and filmmaker Hossein Rajabian who were jointly sentenced to six years in prison and fined 200 million tomans each for “insulting the sacred” and “propaganda against the state”. The three accused professionals appeared at Branch 54 of the Tehran Province Appeals Court on 22 December 2015 and are currently waiting for the appeal court’s decision.