February 8, 2008

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran c/o H.E. Mohammad Khazaee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Your Excellency:

I am writing on behalf of the International Women's Media Foundation to express our alarm concerning the closure of Zanan magazine by the Press Supervisory Board on January 28.

As Iran's leading women's magazine, Zanan has been promoting women's rights since its founding in 1991. The magazine, which we understand to mean women in Persian, is dedicated to the reporting and analysis of women's issues, problems and achievements.

The reason for revocation was said to be "threat to the psychological security of the society" and deliberate "showing of women’s situation in the Islamic Republic" in a "black light." An additional charge was identified as "the weakening of military and revolutionary institutions, including the Basij," later revealed to be connected to a story done by Zanan on women who sign up to be martyrs. We find all these charges to be extremely ambiguous and subject to selective and biased interpretation by the Press Supervisory Board.

For nearly two decades, Zanan has been an important voice reporting on issues and problems that Iranian women face as well as their achievements. It has also been an indispensable forum for encouraging dialogue among those genuinely interested in solving problems of the society as a whole. Its sustained coverage of women's lives in Iran has allowed a balanced international understanding of the Iranian society. Revoking Zanan's publication license deprive all Iranians of expressing and learning about women's social issues and closes one more journal at a critical moment of the country's life.

Zanan and its managing editor and license holder Shahla Sherkat have worked under a very difficult climate created by the constant threat of closures which in the past several years, according to the Los Angeles Times, have entailed the closure of close to 40 publications. Still Sherkat, who has worked as a journalist for nearly 30 years, founded and continued to publish Zanan despite threats and pressures because she felt mainstream journalism was ignoring serious coverage of women's rights in Iran. It was the first independent journal to focus on women's issues after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Zanan has previously been the target of government crackdowns; extremist gangs attacked its offices during the early and mid-1990s, breaking windows, desks and furniture. Authorities have also previously threatened Sherkat and her writers with imprisonment. In January 2001, for instance, Sherkat was fined and sentenced to prison for four months by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of anti-Islamic activities. She appealed and was not required to serve the prison sentence, but was forced to pay a fine equivalent to two-month's salary. But these previous actions pale in comparison to the ordered closure of Zanan by the Press Supervisory Board which was done without any warning and at tremendous cost to those who work for the magazine as well as public good.

Censoring Zanan is irresponsible, and we find it to be a threat to press freedom and women's rights. We are concerned that the closure of Zanan signals more restrictions on free expression and press freedom in Iran. All viewpoints should be allowed to be expressed in the media without force or coercion from authorities.

As a network of thousands of women and men in the media around the world who are supporters of a worldwide free press, we respectfully urge you to take immediate action to ensure that Zanan is reopened and allowed to continue to serve its readers. By using your power to ensure that justice is done in this case, you will take a strong step toward preserving a free and independent press in Iran.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Liza Gross, co-chair

cc: His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Mr. Mohammad Reza Fauker Chair of Article 90 Commission The Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran c/o H.E. Mohammad Khazaee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Mr. Hossein Saffar Harandi Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance c/o H.E. Mohammad Khazaee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

###