News Center_ With the passing of Marjane Satrapi, the world has lost one of the most prominent artists who used art as a tool of resistance, dedicating their works to defending freedom and human rights, and documenting the suffering of the Iranian people through powerful visual storytelling that reached millions of readers and viewers worldwide.

French‑Iranian artist and writer Marjane Satrapi, one of the most prominent artistic voices opposing the Iranian regime, died today, Thursday, June 4, at the age of 56.

Marjane Satrapi is one of the most prominent names in the world of graphic novels and independent cinema. She gained worldwide fame through her famous work "Persepolis," in which she documented her childhood and experience under Iranian rule.

She is also considered one of the most prominent voices critical of Iranian authorities, and did not hesitate to criticize Western policies toward Tehran. In 2025, she refused the French Legion of Honour in protest against what she called "the hypocritical French position toward Iran," amid a new wave of repression inside the country.

At the time, she wrote on her Instagram account that she found it "difficult to understand French policy toward Iran," criticizing the refusal to grant visas to Iranian youth and artists seeking freedom.

She affirmed that her refusal of the medal was not a stance against France, but an expression of her disappointment with its policies, stressing her deep love for the country that became her second home.

An international artistic career that began in exile

Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran, but left the country in 1994 to settle in France, where she obtained French citizenship in 2006.

She achieved global fame through the "Persepolis" series, published in four volumes, the first of which won the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize in 2001.

In 2007, she adapted the work for the big screen in collaboration with director Vincent Paronnaud. The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and became one of the most prominent films depicting life in Iran from a critical and human perspective.

Alongside "Persepolis," she achieved great success with her work "Chicken with Plums," which won the Best Album Award at the Angoulême Festival in 2005, before being adapted into a film in 2011.