A permit previously granted to a Turkish-Farsi book fair was revoked by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Marand City only a day before launch.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is in charge of granting permits for cultural events and prevented the book fair due to its promotion of Turkish-Farsi books.
In a post on Instagram, Nabati Publishing’s manager Vahid Fatemi announced that the permit had been cancelled. He was summoned and notified verbally about the annulment, and was told that the use of “Turkish” in the name of the event and in promotional materials was one of the reasons behind this decision.
In 2019, Marand’s public office obstructed the issuance of the permit for a similar bilingual book fair. At the time, the office of the publishing company “Tak Derakht” was shut down by the order of judicial authorities due to the publication of books in Turkish.
The rights of ethnic minorities relating to education and cultural education in their mother tongue are systematically suppressed by the regime.