Fateme Ekhtesari

Fateme Ekhtesari, also Fatemeh Ekhtesari, (born 1986) is an Iranian poet.[1][2] Ekhtesari lived in Karaj and she writes in Persian.[3] In 2013, she appeared at the poetry festival in Gothenburg (Göteborgs poesifestival). After she arrived back in Iran she was imprisoned and later released on bail. Her verdict came in 2015 when she was sentenced to 99 lashes and 11.5 years imprisonment for crimes against the Iranian government, for immoral behaviour and blasphemy.[4]

Fateme Ekhtesari
Fateme Ekhtesari (2018)
BornFateme Ekhtesari
فاطمه اختصاری
(1986-09-23)September 23, 1986
Kashmar iran
Occupation
  • Poet
  • Songwriter
  • Criticism
  • Writer
LanguagePersian
NationalityIranian
CitizenshipNorway
EducationMidwifery
GenrePoet

Biography

Ekhtesari is also a midwife, and she writes about labours, pregnancies and abortions.[5]

Ekhtesari belongs in the literary movement called "postmodern ghasel", which stems from the older way to write poems called ghasel, but reflects on contemporary society.[6] Her first collection of poems called Yek bahse feministi ghabl az pokhtane sibzaminiha was published in 2010.[2] It was later retracted and the publication ended when it was discovered that she had filled in censored words by hand before the publication of her work.[2] Rakhs roye sime khardar, her second book, is still waiting on approval to be published by the Iranian government as of October 2015.[7]

She was the chief editor of the postmodern magazine Hamin farad bud which has since been cancelled.[8] Ekhtesari participated in a project called En motståndsrörelse på mitt skrivbord where six Persian and six Swedish poets met. It was documented by the magazine Kritiker in 2013.[9]

The rapper Shahin Najafi, whose music has been banned in Iran, has used some of Ekhtesari's poems in his songs.[6]

Criminal case
Evin prison

In 2013, Ekhtesari was among the invited poets who appeared at the Gothenburg poetry festival.[10] After her visit in Sweden she was arrested when she was about to travel to Turkey together with poet Mehdi Moosavi and imprisoned at the Evin prison in Tehran.[11][12] Her Facebook account was hacked and her blog was closed.[13]

On 13 January 2014, Svenska PEN (the Swedish PEN), Sveriges Författarförbund (The Swedish Writers' Union) and Göteborgs poesifestival protested to demand the release of Ekhtesari and other Iranian prisoners.[1] The protest took place outside Iran's embassy in Lidingö.[14][15] On 14 January 2014, Ekthesari and Mehdi Moosavi were both released on bail.[4]

On 12 October 2015, the sentence against Ekhtesari was declared. She was to be lashed 99 times and to serve 11.5 years imprisonment.[12][16] Ekthesari and Moosavi were both sentenced for crimes against the Iranian government, for immoral behaviour and blasphemy.[16] In Ekhtesari's case, her sentence includes seven years for "insulting the sacred", three years for the claimed publication of indecent photos online and eighteen months for spreading propaganda critical of the Iranian government.[17] The 99 lashes are punishment for "illicit relations".[18][19][20]

Escape

In January 2016, Ekhtesari told the Associated Press that she and Moosavi had fled Iran. For safety reasons, she declined to provide any more details.[21]

References
  1. "Poeter fängslade". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. Sveriges Radio. "Ung persisk poesi gör motstånd". Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. Kritiker, Medverkande, 2013, En motståndsrörelse på mitt skrivborg, page 185
  4. "Iranska poeter ska ha släppts". SVT. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. Kritiker, Fateme Ekhtesari and Simin Behbahani, En era i föruttnelse. Ett samtal. 2013. edition 28/29
  6. "Poesi som skakar pelarna". Sydsvenskan. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. Kritiker "En motståndsrörelse på mitt skrivbord" (28/29): page. 185. 2013.
  8. "Iran: PEN International welcomes the release on bail of poets and lyricists Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosav". Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. "Persiska poeter dömda till långa straff". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  10. "Medverkande". Kritiker "En motståndsrörelse på mitt skrivbord" (28/29): page. 185. 2013.
  11. Sveriges Radio. "Poet fängslad efter Sverigebesök". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. "Iranska poeter dömda till 99 piskrapp och fängelse". Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. "Persiska poeter släppta från fängelse". Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. "Manifestation för fängslade poeter: "Vi är oroliga"". svt.se. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. "Frige Fateme Ekhtesari och Mehdi Moosavi!". forfattarforbundet.se. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. "Poeter döms till spöstraff och fängelse". svt.se. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. Jethro Mullen, CNN (28 October 2015). "Rights groups: Iranian poets face flogging, prison – CNN". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  18. Jethro Mullen, CNN (28 October 2015). "Rights groups: Iranian poets face flogging, prison – CNN". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  19. "PEN International delegates stand in solidarity with jailed Iranian poets at its 81st Congress in Quebec". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. UN rights investigator highly critical of Iran Archived 25 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine New York Times Retrieved 30 October 2015
  21. "2 Iranian poets, facing lashings and prison, escape country". Associated Press. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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