ACE expresses its support and solidarity with the imprisoned writer Mahvash Sabet for her “critical” condition due to an operation

The Collegiate Association of Writers (ACE) has expressed its deep concern and solidarity with imprisoned Iranian poet and writer Mahvash Sabet due to his “critical” condition after recent open heart surgery.

The literary entity, through a statement, highlights that Sabet is a “exemplary figure of resistance, humanity and creativity in extreme circumstances”. She was imprisoned between 2008 and 2017 and again since 2022.

In recent days, according to ACE, Mahvash has suffered seizures, fluid buildup in his lungs, relies on a machine to breathe, and is unable to walk or talk. In 2008, the writer was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison on fabricated charges such as “insulting religious sanctities and espionage for Israel.”

Sabet spent almost a decade in prison, two and a half of which in solitary confinement, subjected to physical and psychological abuse. During his imprisonment, Mahvash found a form of resistance in poetry. His poems have been collected in volumes translated into several languages, including a Spanish edition titled ‘Caged Poems’.

In 2017, she was awarded the prestigious title of International Courage Writer by PEN International and was co-winner of the Pinter Prize, in recognition of both the literary quality of her work and her resilient leadership. Despite his release that same year, Mahvash continued to be a target of the Iranian regime.

In July 2022, she was arrested again along with other members of the Baha’i community in Iran and sentenced to a second 10-year prison sentence..