Yousef Emadi

Yousef Emadi is a musician and a Se-Tar player and a co-founder of Barg Music website. Between 2008 to 2013, Barg Music has released over 100 albums of Iranian alternative musicians, including some works of Shahin Najafi. His arrest and conviction created a wave of protests among Iranian and international human rights activists and artists

• <coverage-outsourcing id='8375'> Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, and Yousef Emadi were arrested at their office in the city of Sari and were taken to a safe house of the security forces in that city. According to Iran Wire, the agents of the Revolutionary Guard did not have an arrest warrant. They were mistreated during that time and were pressured to make confessions against themselves on television. Also, Ms. Azadeh .S, who also worked on Barg Music website was arrested in Hamedan a week after them. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8376'> According to Iran Wire, although the third branch of Sari Revolutionary Court was supposed to change their detention to a bail of 200 million Tomans, the bail was canceled and the three of them were Transferred to ward 2-A of Evin Prison </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8379'> Yousef Emadi was released from prison. According to Iran Wire, he was temporarily released after 40 days in solitary confinement and on a 200 million toman bail </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8385'> In a joint letter to the minister of Islamic Guidance, over 400 citizens asked for the release of these artists. According to Kalameh, after this letter, the Association for Defense of Freedom of Speech in Music, along with 9 other international organizations sent a letter to the head of judiciary and other authorities requesting their release </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8387'> Kalameh reported that branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Moghiseh sentenced Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, and Yousef Emadi to five years in prison for the charge of "blasphemy", one year in prison and 20 million tomans fine for the charge of "propaganda against the regime." During the trial, Judge Moghiseh claimed that Barg Music website's "intent was the promotion of indifference towards holiness and sacred subjects through underground music" and was also "active in the field of cinema." The duration of the whole trial was 15 minutes </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8388'> The appeal trial was held </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8399'> Iran Wire reported that Hossein Rajabian has been accepted by Vienna's University of Dramatic Arts in Austria, but is not allowed to leave the country </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8394'> "Free Muse" organization started a campaign asking from all artists across the world to object to the prison sentences of these artists. International PENN Association, Council of Arts in Europe, European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, and twenty more institutions participated in this campaign </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8406'> 165 artists, authors, and civil activists published a joint statement in protest to the court verdicts of these three artists and requested their exoneration and a change in Iranian regime's attitude towards cultural and arts activists. According to Radio Farda, Among signatories are Jafar Panahi, Mohsen Namjoo, Shahrnoosh Parsipoor, Mehrangiz Kar, and Shahin Najafi </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8400'> Amnesty International Organization in a statement noted that these verdicts are in clear violation of the right to freedom of speech, and asked the Iranian regime for the immediate and unconditional reversal of these verdicts. Twenty thousand Artists from across the world joined the organisation's campaign for the release of these three artists </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8405'> According to Kalameh website, branch 54 of Tehran appeal court presided by Judge Babayi, sentenced Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, and Yousef Emadi to three years of mandatory prison, three years of suspended prison, and 20 million tomans in fines </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8393'> With International Music Day on March 3rd getting close, Amnesty International organization and a number of artists from across the world asked Iranian government to stop the persecution of Hossein Rajabian, Mehdi Rajabian, and Yousef Emadi </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='9249'> According to Zamaneh, in a joint letter to the Norway's Foreign Ministry, Iran's Human Rights Organization, Norway's Amnesty International, PENN Association of Norway, and SafeMuse Organization requested efforts from the government to stop and overturn the verdicts of Rajabian Brothers and Yousef Emadi </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='8412'> The sentence of Yousef Emadi and Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian began </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='12708'> Harana reported that several prisoners in Ward 7of Evin Prison, including Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian, Esmaeel Abdi, Sohail Arabi, Omid Alishenas, and Yousef Emadi, have started a sit-in to protest the head of the ward's medical center, Mr. Ghassem Jafarnejad's negligence of his duties and asked for his replacement in a letter. Their protest is mainly regarding the alarming health conditions of Hossein Rajabian, Mehdi Rajabian, and Sohail Arabi, which has deteriorated due to the medical center' negligence and their refusal to transfer these individuals to a hospital </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='13355'> According to Harana, Yousef Emadi and Esmaeel Abdi were transferred to Ward 350 in Evin Prison by the order of the prosecutor and without prior notice </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='14360'> HRANA reported Ismael Abdi and Yousef Abdi have written a letter to the head of Evin prison warned of the human tragedy that could befall Arash Sadeghi because of his hunger strike and weakened condition. In their letter they claimed that Arash Sadeghi's stomach could not take anything other than water , tea and some soup </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='15115'> Arash Sadeghi, Esmail Abdi and Yousef Emadi wrote a letter from section 350 of Evin prison in support and solidarity with Athena Daemi. In this letter that was published by HRANA they stated: We, the undersigned, in our capacity as human rights activists, while declaring our solidarity with Athena Daemi in her rightful demands regarding social injustices such as the absence of family rights in illegal arrests, issue a warning that such manner of arrest and treatment produces an atmosphere of mistrust towards the independence of the judiciary </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='15900'> Despite the prior promise of authorities, Evin prison prevented Esmael Abdi’s transfer to the hospital. On the same day Arash Sadeghi and Youssef Emadi had a sit-in in front of ward 350’s guards office, in protest to the refusal to transfer him, but ended it when given promises by the authorities </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='18215'> According to IPA he was transferred to the quarantine ward. Around three weeks later, he was transferred to the general ward. According to HRANA during this time his family had no news of his condition </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='18935'> HRANA reports that judge Moghiseh sentenced him to one year in prison and two years Exile in Bushire </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='19282'> Mohammad Beheshti Langaroudi, Soda Aghasar, Ali Shariati, Yousef Emadi, and Soheil Arabi, along with some of the other prisoners, celebrated International Teacher’s Day celebrations in ward 7 of Evin prison </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23298'> He was released </coverage-outsourcing>