The most recent report available currently available to the DIRB states that Iranian writer Ali Saidi-Sirjani and Iranian poet Said Niazi-Kermani were arrested in Tehran on 14 March 1994, and were convicted for drinking, homosexuality, links with espionage networks and receiving money from 'counter-revolutionary' organizations based in the West (Newsletter of the writers in Prison Committee of International PEN Apr.-May 1994). The director general of National Security in the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that if found guilty, those charged with these offences can receive the death penalty (ibid.). For more information on the treatment of dissident writers in Iran, please consult the attached documents.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Newsletter of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN [London, UK]. April/May 1994. "Iran Arrests Leading Novelist".

Middle East Watch. August 1993. Guardians of Thought: Limits on Freedom of Expression in Iran. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 63-93.

Newsletter of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN [London, UK]. April/May 1994. "Iran Arrests Leading Novelist".