Stop Iran’s Weaponization of Espionage Laws Against Artists, Writers and Cultural Workers
Stop Iran’s Weaponization of Espionage Laws Against Artists, Writers and Cultural Workers
The Issue
We, the undersigned, call for urgent international attention and action in response to a new legal threat in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Following the recent ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Iranian authorities have announced a redefinition of the crime of "espionage". The spokesperson for Iran's Judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, stated on national television that existing espionage laws “do not meet current conditions” and must be expanded to confront what the regime calls "infiltration and influence" activities.
A proposed bill now being pushed through the Iranian parliament will empower judicial, military, and intelligence institutions to punish individuals under dramatically broader and vaguer definitions of espionage — no longer limited to state secrets or intelligence work.
Instead, any form of research, documentation, photography, writing, publishing, filming, or public communication could now be interpreted as a national security threat.
This law represents a devastating escalation in the criminalization of culture, memory, and speech.
It places writers, filmmakers, journalists, artists, researchers, photographers, scholars — and all who depend on freedom of expression — at grave risk. It seeks to silence and paralyze entire creative and intellectual communities inside Iran.
We call on:
PEN International
To publicly condemn this law as a direct violation of freedom of expression and to mobilize support for threatened Iranian writers, artists and journalists.
UNESCO
To urgently address this legal change as a violation of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and to initiate a monitoring process.
Cultural institutions around the world
To refuse silence. Use your platforms to raise awareness, stand in solidarity, and demand the protection of creative freedom.
If we do not act now, silence will become a crime. Creativity will become treason.
Together, let us say clearly:
Art is not espionage.
Writing is not a weapon.
Freedom of expression is not a threat — it is a right.
111
The Issue
We, the undersigned, call for urgent international attention and action in response to a new legal threat in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Following the recent ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Iranian authorities have announced a redefinition of the crime of "espionage". The spokesperson for Iran's Judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, stated on national television that existing espionage laws “do not meet current conditions” and must be expanded to confront what the regime calls "infiltration and influence" activities.
A proposed bill now being pushed through the Iranian parliament will empower judicial, military, and intelligence institutions to punish individuals under dramatically broader and vaguer definitions of espionage — no longer limited to state secrets or intelligence work.
Instead, any form of research, documentation, photography, writing, publishing, filming, or public communication could now be interpreted as a national security threat.
This law represents a devastating escalation in the criminalization of culture, memory, and speech.
It places writers, filmmakers, journalists, artists, researchers, photographers, scholars — and all who depend on freedom of expression — at grave risk. It seeks to silence and paralyze entire creative and intellectual communities inside Iran.
We call on:
PEN International
To publicly condemn this law as a direct violation of freedom of expression and to mobilize support for threatened Iranian writers, artists and journalists.
UNESCO
To urgently address this legal change as a violation of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and to initiate a monitoring process.
Cultural institutions around the world
To refuse silence. Use your platforms to raise awareness, stand in solidarity, and demand the protection of creative freedom.
If we do not act now, silence will become a crime. Creativity will become treason.
Together, let us say clearly:
Art is not espionage.
Writing is not a weapon.
Freedom of expression is not a threat — it is a right.
111
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on June 28, 2025