According to a message posted on 7 December on the Instagram account of the author, who has been detained since April, her six-year prison sentence has been reduced to eight months after she was acquitted of one of the charges.
"Atena Farghdani, a political prisoner who was arrested in Farvardin* 1403 (2024) and transferred to Evin Prison, was acquitted of the charge of insulting the sacred and sentenced to 8 months imprisonment by the Court of Appeal for drawing a cartoon entitled "class differences". It should be noted that in 2014 she served one and a half years in prison for drawing a caricature of members of parliament."
*Fardavin: the first month of the Persian calendar, which has 31 days between 21 March and 20 April.
According to Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) Atena is now free:
"We are deeply relieved by the release of Atena Farghadani and hope that she receives the care and support she needs after suffering such an unjust and brutal imprisonment," said Julie Trébault, ARC's executive director. "Her case is a stark reminder of the risks faced by artists in Iran simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression. As we celebrate Atena's freedom, we urgently call on the Iranian authorities to release all artists and cultural workers who remain unjustly detained."
On Saturday 13 April 2024, Atena Farghadani, a Tehran-based cartoonist, painter and children's rights activist, was violently arrested by security forces and taken to Evin prison. Farghadani was reportedly arrested for attempting to paste one of her drawings on a wall on Pasteur Avenue, where the presidential palace is located. In protest against her arbitrary detention, she refused to accept bail.
One and a half years in prison for a drawing
Farghadani had already been arrested and imprisoned several times for her drawings.
On 23 August 2014, Atena was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned on charges of"spreading propaganda against the system","insulting members of parliament through paintings" and"insulting the supreme leader" as well as her interrogators.
All this because of a satirical illustration he posted on Facebook depicting a group of parliamentarians characterised as different animals.
She faced a sentence of up to 12 years and 9 months in prison. Eventually, the sentence was reduced to 18 months' imprisonment in the court of review and in May 2016 she was released after serving her full sentence.
On 9 June 2023, she was re-imprisoned after refusing to accept bail of $4,200 after being summoned for questioning by the 33rd district court. Farghadani refused to pay bail on the grounds that she had committed no crime and that her summons and charges were illegal and arbitrary, and was transferred to Qarchak women's prison outside Tehran. After her release, Atena reported various abuses and torture.
