Brazilian author Coelho says Iran bans his books

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 11 Prominent Brazilian author Paulo Coelho said yesterday that the sale of his books had been banned in Iran and he appealed to his countrys government to intervene.Coelho, one of the worlds best-selling writers, published on his blog (paulocoelhoblog.com) a message from his editor in Iran informing him of the Iranian governments decision to ban his books.I strongly hope this misunderstanding will be solved during the week. And I strongly count on the Brazilian government to support me, my books, for the sake of all the values we cherish, Coelho (picture) wrote on the blog.His editor in Iran, Arash Hejazi, was shown in video footage during anti-government protests in June 2009 trying to save the life of Neda Agha-Soltan, whose death became a symbol of the violence that followed Irans disputed elections.Coelho said he did not know the reason for Irans decision to ban his books, but noted that he had used social networks online to support Hejazi during the violence.Coelho, whose 1988 allegorical novel The Alchemist became one of the best-selling books in history, said he would make all of his books translated into the Persian language, or Farsi as it is known in Iran, available for free on the Internet.The author, whose sales total at least 300 million in 150 countries, said his work had been selling in Iran since 1998. Reuters

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