TEHRAN – The Portuguese and Spanish editions of “Cell No. 14”, the autobiography of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, were launched during a special ceremony at the 34th Tehran International Book Fair on Tuesday.

Translator Martha Golzar, Bolivian Ambassador Romina Pérez Ramos, Venezuelan Ambassador José Rafael Silva Aponte, and Argentinean Muslim cleric Edgardo Robi, who uses the name Soheil Asaad, attended the book launch event held at the Nations Hall of the book fair.

Golzar said that she feels proud of her translation of the book and added, “The author had written the book in a manner that was easily understandable and I did my best to do so.”

He called the book really informative and helpful for the younger generation.

Pérez Ramos also praised the book and said, “It is easy to examine the information in the book, because the writer is well known to all of us.”   

The Spanish translation of “Cell No. 14” (“Celda No. 14”) was first introduced in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in March.

Later in April, the House of Representatives of Colombia hosted a book launch celebration of (“Celda No. 14”.

The book covers the first half of the life of Ayatollah Khamenei, from his early childhood all the way to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the monarchical regime to an end in Iran.

The Persian edition “Khun-e Deli ke La’l Shod” (“The Pains that Changed into Gains”) was published by the Islamic Revolution Publications in 2019.

It was a Persian translation of “Inna Ma as-Sabri Nasra” the Leader had written in Arabic. The memories were then compiled by the Iranian Arabic language scholar Mohammad-Ali Azarshab.

The Arabic version was unveiled by Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a ceremony held in Beirut in February 2019 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

The book also contains unpublished photos of the Leader, his father and his children, in addition to a photo collection of paintings related to the topics in the book.

Rodela, a leading publisher in Bangladesh, published a Bengali translation by Muhammad Mujahid al-Islam in 2021.

Photo: Bolivian Ambassador Romina Pérez Ramos holds a Spanish copy of “Cell No. 14” during the book launch celebration of Ayatollah Khamenei’s autobiography at the 34th Tehran International Book Fair on May 16, 2023. (Tasnim/Mohammad Hassanzadeh)

MMS/YAW