{"id":16150,"date":"2026-01-04T14:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T14:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/?p=16150"},"modified":"2026-01-04T14:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T14:17:12","slug":"statement-1642-by-defense-of-art-and-artist-rights-committee-on-when-the-stages-fall-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/?p=16150","title":{"rendered":"Statement 1642 by Defense of Art and Artist Rights Committee on When the Stages Fall Silent"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the stages fall silent<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cViolation of the Rights of Theater Artists in Iran\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Reports show that pressure on theater artists in Iran has intensified in recent years. These pressures include summons and arrests, dismissals due to cultural criticisms, sudden cancellation of permits, unofficial work bans, extensive censorship of performance texts, and heavy financial pressures on theater groups.<\/p>\n

This situation continues while theater plays an important role in freedom of expression and social dialogue. Independent institutions warn that the continuation of this trend will lead to the silencing of creativity and thought across the country.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Security-based approaches, arbitrary arrests, and severe artistic restrictions indicate a serious violation of artists\u2019 rights and disregard for Iran\u2019s international human rights commitments.<\/p>\n

Documented cases:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aida Kiyani and Mohammad Yaghoubi<\/strong><\/span>
\nTwo theater artists who were banned from working due to publishing critical demands on Instagram, and the performance of their works at the Iranshahr Theater Complex was canceled.<\/p>\n

Houshmand Hekar and other theater activists<\/strong><\/span>
\nFollowing the publication of a list of more than 30 artists arrested during protests, they received security threats.<\/p>\n

Gathering of protesting theater artists in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly<\/strong><\/span>
\nAt this gathering, artists, including Arash Ganji, were present and faced arrests and security suppressions.<\/p>\n

Saeed Asadi and Maryam Kazemi<\/strong><\/span>
\nDue to performing the play \u201cA Summer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d in Tehran, they were arrested and later released.<\/p>\n

International Covenants on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Article 15:<\/strong>
\nThe right to participate in cultural life, the right to create artistic works, and support for scientific and artistic freedom.<\/p>\n

UNESCO 2005 Convention<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Article 2<\/strong>: Protection of freedom and cultural and artistic diversity
\n\u2022 Article 3<\/strong>: Protection and promotion of diversity of cultural expressions, including the right to create and present artistic works
\n\u2022 Article 7<\/strong>: Guarantee of free participation in cultural and artistic activities without censorship or unlawful restrictions<\/p>\n

Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Article 9<\/strong>: Prohibition of arbitrary arrest
\n\u2022 Article 19<\/strong>: Freedom of expression
\n\u2022 Article 27<\/strong>: Right to create cultural works<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Defense of Human Rights Association in Iran<\/strong><\/p>\n

Defense of Art and Artist Rights Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Translated by Alireza Jahan Bin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the stages fall silent \u201cViolation of the Rights of Theater Artists in Iran\u201d Reports show that pressure on theater artists in Iran has intensified in recent years. These pressures include summons and arrests, dismissals due to cultural criticisms, sudden cancellation of permits, unofficial work bans, extensive censorship of performance texts, and heavy financial pressures … <\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","item-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16151,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16150\/revisions\/16151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}