IRANIAN illustrator Ehsan Abdollahi has had his controversial visa rejection overturned, leaving him free to appear as a special guest at Edinburgh Book Festival in August.
The 37-year-old had been due to arrive in the UK early next month only for him to be sent a visa refusal letter by the British embassy in Dubai.
On learning of his visa rejection last week, campaigners on social media joined protests from his publisher, festival organisers, and the Scottish Government.
Abdollahi teaches at Tehran’s top arts university, Farhango Honar, and has illustrated several children’s books published in English by the independent publishing house Tiny Owl, including When I Coloured in the World, and A Bottle of Happiness.
Festival director Nick Barley, who warned that Abdollahi’s absence risked damaging British culture, described him as a “highly respected, award-winning Iranian illustrator of kids’ books”.
SNP MP Deidre Brock called the support for the campaign “heartwarming” and believes the “result sends a message that Edinburgh continues to welcome the world in August”.
Brock also cautioned that Abdollahi’s plight highlighted serious faults in the Home Office immigration and visa system.
She added: “This U-turn shows the Home Office can be persuaded to do the right thing sometimes and we need to get them to do it all the time.
"People should not have to go through this kind of stressful process just to take part in our international festivals.
“We need a root-and-branch review of a visa system that upsets lives, is damaging to our creative industries and to international relations.”
A “delighted” Delaram Ghanimifard, Abdollahi’s publisher at Tiny Owl, said: “This is a real testament to the support Ehsan has received over the last week and we thank everyone who wrote to their MPs, shared the #VisaForAbdollahi hashtag and bought books in protest.
“We hope that for us, and for other publishers, this will set a precedent for artists wanting to come to the UK in the future.”
Book Festival Director Nick Barley was similarly pleased, and spoke of the wider significance of the visa U-turn.
“Fundamentally, I am relieved that an artist has been granted permission to travel to the UK from Iran and talk about his work at the Book Festival this summer.
"Now more than ever, we need to hear people like Ehsan talking about their ideas.”
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