All Artists Banned from Leaving the Country
A legal expert in the media field recently reported that a large number of artistic figures have been banned from leaving the country. There is a system for checking travel bans where individuals can enter their national ID to find out their status. The ‘My Registration’ and ‘My Police’ systems exist, but what has happened is that even with a positive check, people have been banned from leaving.
The head of the Civil Registration Organization mentioned that many travel bans are not listed in the ‘My Registration’ system, and if individuals are banned solely based on executive files, they will be informed through this system. Those banned for reasons such as tax debt or judicial orders must refer to ‘My Police’. However, it seems that even individuals may be banned from leaving, yet their checks in both systems are positive. An example of this is Bahram Radan.
Radan shared a story on his Instagram stating that on Friday, November 4, 2022, when he was at the airport for a short trip abroad, shortly before the flight, two young men in their 20s approached him without showing any ID or judicial warrant and handed him a paper stating he was not allowed to leave the country and needed to visit one of the authorities to resolve his issue.
Radan further mentions that there is a system called ‘Sana’ where you can check if you are banned from leaving the country. He says after this incident, he checked the system and found out that there was no travel ban registered for him. After Radan’s story, Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, stated that travel bans should not be such that individuals only find out about them upon arriving at the airport. Despite all the warnings I have given, there are still issues and problems within the judiciary that need to be resolved.
Several famous figures have been banned from leaving the country.
There are no statistics on the number of athletes or artists banned from leaving the country, nor is it clear how many of them have had their issues definitively resolved and can now leave the country. What is known so far is based on their own announcements. Maryam Bobani, an actress who unveiled after Mahsa Amini’s death, Hamid Farrokhnezhad, and Mohammad Borhani, the voice actor for Jenab Khan, are among the figures who have publicized their travel bans.
Bobani wrote: ‘I stayed in Khuzestan during the hardest days of the war under shelling and rockets and did not leave my homeland. I am not leaving this homeland.’ Mohammad Mousavi, captain of the national volleyball team, who has played for European teams for several years, also shared a story announcing his travel ban. Borhani, who withdrew from participating in Nasim Network’s special program for the World Cup, sarcastically said, ‘My travel ban does not matter at all.’
Ali Zia, Ali Daei, Homayoun Shajarian and his wife Sahar Dolatshahi, Mani Haghighi, and Hedyeh Tehrani are other figures whose passports have been confiscated or who have been banned from leaving the country. Ibrahim Golestan’s granddaughter and Leili Golestan’s child were headed to the UK to participate in the London Film Festival on October 13 when their passport was seized at the airport.
Hamid Farrokhnezhad also said he faced two summonses, ten hours of interrogation, and a travel ban just to prove to him that he was wrong to say even peaceful protests cannot be held. Mitra Ebrahimi, Peyman Ghasemkhani’s wife, also reported in an Instagram story on October 11 that he was banned from leaving the country following the confiscation of his passport at Imam Khomeini Airport.
Ali Zia also wrote in an Instagram post: ‘Sorry if some of you were worried; nothing special happened. They decided I couldn’t leave the country. This has happened to many artists too. Our homeland is our home, but if you lock the door on us, it feels strange.’ There were unofficial reports about the travel bans of Mehran Modiri and Shahab Hosseini, but they never officially confirmed them.
Among these figures, Ali Daei told Agence France-Presse a few days later that his passport was returned to him. Whether his travel ban issue is resolved or not is unknown. Homayoun Shajarian also announced at that time that contradictory news about our confiscated passport has been published. The truth is that Sahar Dolatshahi and I have not yet received our passports and are still banned from leaving the country. However, on October 10, the Deputy Minister of Security of the Ministry of Interior announced that Homayoun Shajarian’s passport would be returned to him and there is no issue in this regard. Tasnim News Agency also announced that Shajarian has no travel restrictions abroad.
The Travel Ban Law and the Judge’s Discretion
Travel bans are among the judicial supervision orders that complement the security order or supplementary punishment, allowing the judicial authority to prevent the accused from leaving the country. Moreover, a travel ban is only valid for six months and is considered null and void thereafter. However, the judge can extend this order if necessary.
According to Article 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code, five groups of individuals are banned from leaving the country and are not allowed to exit.
1. Definite tax debtors and debtors whose debts have been confirmed by a final court ruling or an execution order in the registration organization of deeds and properties. 2. Individuals who have a bad reputation abroad due to begging, vagrancy, theft, fraud, or any other reason. 3. Individuals whose travel abroad is deemed against the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran by judicial authorities. 4. Those who are not allowed to leave the country as per a written announcement from judicial authorities. 5. Individuals whose passport issuance and departure from the country are subject to the consent of another person, such as a father or husband.
It seems that the legislator has drafted this law so broadly that it is easy to ban anyone from leaving the country, especially based on clause 3 of this law. Another issue with the law is that it remains silent about the form, manner, and timing of an individual’s travel ban and does not require the judge or court to inform the individual in writing about the judge’s order. The suggestion that individuals should check the relevant system for travel bans implies that the default is that everyone is banned from leaving unless proven otherwise.
Another article on this topic titled ‘Continuation of Nationwide Protests in Iran and the Rise of Arrests and Intimidation’ has been published.