STOP THE BOMB is deeply concerned about the whereabouts and well-being of the for 11 days missing exile-Iranian artist and filmmaker Daryush Shokof. STOP THE BOMB calls on the responsible official bodies in Germany to investigate the disappearance of Shokof, and to especially consider the possibility of a politically motivated act by Iranian or Islamic forces.
STOP THE BOMB demands that the German government issues a public statement on the case of Shokof, and that it ensures with all available political means and security forces the safety and the possibility of free political and artistic activites for everyone who fleed from the Iranian terror regime.
„The Iranian agencies control a network of agents and institutions loyal to the regime, who can still act undisturbed in Germany. For example, the Iranian ambassador to Germany Ali Reza Sheikh Attar belongs to the terrorist Iranian Revolutionary Guards“, says Jonathan Weckerle, speaker of STOP THE BOMB.
Thus, the Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi is absolutely right when she holds the German government responsible for Shokof’s security.[1]
On Monday, May 24, 2010 Shokof was seen for the last time at the main train station in Cologne, where he wanted to board a train to Paris. Apart from this it is only known that he didn’t keep any of his appointments in Paris.
Shokof is known as one of the harshest critics of the Islamic Republic among the Iranian artists in exile. In his latest two movies, „Iran-Zendan“ (Iran-Prison) and „Hitler’s Grave“, which had their premiere on May 9, 2010 in Berlin, Shokof sharply criticizes the regime’s crimes and it’s ideology. „In Shokof’s movies many tabooed topics are adressed, tortuture and rape in the prisons are shown as well as a woman from a islamic family, who throws away her headscarf and marries a Jewish man. Shokofs work attacks the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic and thus is a threat to the rulers in Iran. Especially because of the upcoming anniversary of the election fraud it is possible that the regime tries to intimidate the opposition in Iran and exile with an action against one of the regime’s critics“, says Weckerle.
At least 162 assassinations of oppositional Iranians in exile have been ordered by the rulers in Tehran since 1979.[2] Since the start of the massive protest movement last year the exile Iranian opposition has been threatened increasingly and persecuted, especially in Germany.[3]
