The year began with protests, driven by the extraordinary courage of the Iranian people – as in 2022, when the cry «Jin, Jiyan, Azadî» (Woman, Life, Freedom) resonated around the world. Soon this protest, too, was crushed with unimaginable brutality. As Iranians mourned their dead, the United States and Israel launched air and missile strikes against Iran on February 28.
Writers and journalists are living through these months with scarce information and in fear for family members in Iran. They hold «explosions in their hands», wrote the author Shida Bazyar, describing the messages on her phone. She will be joined by poetry slammer Aidin Halimi and authors Ronya Othmann and Daniela Sepehri to discuss the role of writers in Iran’s freedom movement. Journalists Michel Abdollahi and Shila Behjat, along with political scientist Ali Fathollah-Nejad, will discuss the political and global consequences of the American-Israeli war against Iran. Poet Mahtab Yaghma, who lives in exile in Berlin and narrowly escaped the death penalty in 2024, will read from her work. Behrad Alikonari will provide the musical accompaniment for the evening.
In cooperation with PEN Berlin.
With Michel Abdollahi, Behrad Alikonari, Shida Bazyar, Shila Behjat, Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Aidin Halimi, Ronya Othmann, Daniela Sepehri, Mahtab Yaghma
Moderated by Nina Moghaddam
With musical accompaniment by Behrad Alikonari
In German, Farsi with simultaneous interpretation into German