As confirmed by relatives and witnesses, during the raids and mass arrests in the Diyarbakir region on April 25, the following 6 members of the City Theatre of Diyarbakir (Amend Municipal Theatre) were arrested:
– Yavuz Akkuzu
– Elvan Köçer Yıldırım
– Özcan Ateş
– Sena Özbey
– Şahperi Alphan Bayhan
– Sadettin Inal
Mohammadi was arrested on Nov. 5, 2022, and has been sentenced to execution by the court of the city of Karaj. The death sentence was lifted in January 2023. A new trial in Karaj has now been held to decide on the sentences of 14 accused in connection with the death of a Bassij militiaman. Mohammadi, who has been in custody since November, has now been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The detention of the accused had initially been justified by their participation in a memorial service for Hadis Najafi, who was killed by Basijis during a demonstration in Karaj at the end of September. Two demonstrators were executed earlier this year as part of the major trial that eventually heard charges of “corruption on earth” and “conspiracy against internal and external security”: Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini.
Sources: Enthekab.ir, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, ANF news,
ACAR’S list of arrested Iranian theatre artists grows to 41 names: The revolution court of Tehran has announced 6 years jail sentence for Shiva Shabani, film and theater actress. She was arrested in early November in connection with nationwide protests and released on bail later that month.
Shabani was sentenced to five years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and an additional year for “propaganda against the state”. In addition to the six-year prison sentence, there is a two-year ban on leaving the country, a two-year ban on membership of political organizations, a ban on publishing in print and digital media, and a two-year ban on working in theatre and film.
Sources: HRNA English on Twitter, 2023/01/21; radiofarda.com
Updated List of arrested Iranian theatre artists
ACAR shares and supports today’s address of solidarity from the Duesseldorfer Schauspielhaus: “Actor and artist Hossein Mohammadi was arrested during protests in Iran and sentenced to death in a summary trial. We declare our solidarity with our colleague Hossein Mohammadi and all protesters in Iran. We strongly condemn all human rights violations! We condemn the death penalty!”
Today, sources reported on social media that both were provisionally released from custody on bail.
Monday, January 10, Kirill Serebrennikov arrived Hamburg (Germany) and is directing now rehearsals of Chekhov’s “The Black Monk” at the Thalia Theater. The director was surprisingly allowed to leave after he was convicted of fraud in Summer 2020 and sentenced with a three-year travel ban. Since then he conducted rehearsals throughout Europe only by video conference.
Source: Deutsche Welle