Cartoon 48: Nowruz 1392

Nowruz 1392

As Iranians around the world prepare to celebrate the new year, hundreds of prisoners of conscience remain behind bars in Iran. The Persian New Year, Nowruz, is the most important holiday in Iran, beginning at the moment of the vernal equinox. While the news website Kaleme reports that a dozen political prisoners have been granted temporary furlough for the holidays, this year, hundreds of other prisoners of conscience, including lawyers, journalists, activists, and others accused of vague charges for being critical of the Iranian regime, will be left to mark the new year in their prison cells.