Press release PEN Berlin: Saman Yasin: Kurdish rapper has arrived in Berlin

Press release of 18, January 2025

Saman Yasin: Arrived in Berlin, safe and free

Saman Yasin
Saman Yasin, Kaveh Kermanshahi, Ghazal Abdollahi, Daniela Sepehri, Yada (from right) on Yasmin’s arrival in Berlin

It is with great joy and relief that PEN Berlin announces that its honorary member Saman Yasin arrived in Berlin yesterday. The rapper, who comes from the Kurdish part of Iran, had been imprisoned since October 2022 for writing lyrics critical of the regime. In connection with the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests, Yasin was accused of ‘waging war against God’ and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in a show trial. Although the Supreme Court upheld his appeal, Yasin remained in prison until the end of 2024. In prison he was subjected to severe torture and ill-treatment, including a mock execution.

Saman Yasin was met at Berlin airport by our member Daniela Sepehri, co-initiator of the Sponsorship Programme for Political Prisoners in Iran. Carlos Kasper, an SPD member of the German Bundestag, had taken on Yasin’s political sponsorship and campaigned for his release. Our thanks go to the organisation HÁWAR.help, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that Saman Yasin is now safe in Germany.

Joachim Helfer, board member of PEN Berlin, said: »Saman Yasin is finally free, and our other Iranian honorary member Toomaj Salehi has been free since December 2024. This is probably a consequence of the critical situation in which the Islamic Republic of Iran currently finds itself. But it also shows that international solidarity and commitment to human rights can make a difference.« PEN Berlin will be supporting Saman Yasin as he settles into exile in Germany.

PEN Berlin. We stand by our word.

 

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