Because if we do, then highly renowned Iranian student Majid Tavakoli is scheduled to be in jail for 8 1/2 years. He’s been imprisoned since December 2009. His sister wrote a letter to him on her birthday.
She writes in her last lines, “We vow to be with you heroes no matter where we are on this Earth. We are steadfast and united until you are free and with us in a Green and prosperous Iran.” …which can be interpreted as: All you political prisoners will be freed the day we achieve a Green and prosperous Iran.
Let’s assume we take the prison sentences seriously, or at least take the Iranian regime seriously, then we should also seriously keep in mind that political prisoners with hefty and unjust sentences are actually innocent Iranians who deserve to be praised for their love for Iran, not suffer in the name of freedom. We must not forget about these brave and beautiful people. We cannot stop being their voices.
We have to continue making sure that the world remains aware of the extent of the Iranian people’s suffering. We need to also highlight how much of their lives have been wasted away.
Some are imprisoned for speaking out about an injustice they witnessed and could not stay silent to. Some are imprisoned for vocalizing their opinion. Some are imprisoned for publishing their thoughts online. Some are imprisoned because of their religious beliefs or family ties. These, according to the Iranian regime, are insults, acts of propaganda, and proof of espionage and links to opposition groups.
There are also some Iranians who are imprisoned for breaking the fickle laws enforced by the oppressive and abusive Iranian regime. Most of the regulations in Iran would never be considered legal in a sane country. No democratic government would be so oppressive and ridiculous.
These innocent Iranians have no choice but to be imprisoned. Even when they are not in jail, they are imprisoned in their homes, at school, at work…there is no freedom in Iran.
The ones in prison, the ones who we hear about the most, exist in an extremely pressured situation. Still, they refuse to sign false statements or give false confessions under torture. Iranians will resist the Iranian regime even while imprisoned.
Why do political prisoners resist the Iranian regime?
Iranians who are imprisoned can gain the cooperation of authorities if they are a liability to the regime or if their case exposes too many loopholes in the system. But why do numerous Iranians still resist and not comply? The truest and simplest answer would probably be their faith in freedom. And since freedom is not possible to achieve with the current Iranian regime, the only option left for Iranian activists is resistance.
In prison ones voice cannot reach a large enough audience, thus people around the world who live in free countries are needed to widely spread the messages of the political prisoners, because it is their voices that leads the path to freedom. And when we don’t succeed to get their voices heard enough in the media, their resisting efforts do not blossom, which makes them vulnerable to prison authorities.
This happened to Iranian student Zia Nabavi. He had first received a 15 year sentence by branch 26 of Tehran’s revolutionary court on charges of “conspiracy to disturb national security”, “propaganda against the regime”. “disruption of public order”, (74 lashes for) “agitating the public’s peace of mind“, and “cooperatation with the Mujahedin Khalq Organization” (the last charge resulted in a 10 year prison exile sentence in the town of Izeh (a city in the province of Khuzestan).
His sentence later got reduced by the Appeals Court to ten years in prison exile. Zia Nabavi is currently suffering in Karoun prison in exile. His lawyer had stated before the final ruling that the first court’s verdict was an act of vengeance to punish Zia Nabavi for his activities in the Council to Defend the Right to Education.
Persian2English has published two letters written by Zia Nabavi from ward 350 in Evin prison to Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran’s Judiciary:
1. Zia Nabavi Writes to Ayatollah Larijani: “I Am Not a Mohareb”.
2. Zia Nabavi Writes Detailed Case Report for Ayatollah Larijani.
The truth is that Zia Nabavi had participated in the enormous and peaceful demonstrations on June 15, 2009 and he is the spokesperson for the Council to Defend the Right to Education; a peaceful council that helped draw attention to the star system enforced by the Iranian regime against students. The star system was developed by Iran’s Ministry of Advanced Education so students with disciplinary issues get penalized. After a certain number of stars, students are prevented from continuing their education. The system is primarily used against student activists. The Iranian regime, including president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, denies the existence of starred students.
When the stories of political prisoners do not spread enough, people like Zia Nabavi and others in worse situations, suffer the consequences of exile, torture, rape, murder…Beautiful and innocent Iranians who are among the brightest and the kindest are treated this way. Their lives are completely kidnapped from them and taken hostage by the greedy mullah regime.
But why do political prisoners still resist? Because they have faith in freedom.
Why do activists outside Iran still provide positive results in campaigns?Because their faith in freedom leads them.
If we raise our voice just a little bit more and pressure international organizations and the media to see the severity of the issues on a larger scale, we can achieve better results. Unity is the key to help Iranians gain freedom.
We witnessed after the 2009 Iranian presidential election how easily the fear of the Iranian people lifted and how much more united they became. Many people saw it around the world and that is why the fight for a free Iran includes many dedicated non-Iranian activists. It is not possible for Iranians to return to silence. The Iranian people are fearless. I believe that the Iranian people will reach freedom and Majid and Zia and Atefeh and Shiva and Zeynab and Nasrin and Abdollah and Isa and Masoud and Jafar and Ahmad and Sakineh and Kouhyar and all the others will be there to enjoy it.
…Love and support for all political prisoners in Iran. I and many others like me are with you. You are not alone. Ma bishomarim… Ta Rooze Azadi.
And to anyone who would like to help reach the day of freedom, hamrah sho. Join organizations, talk to different activists and offer your help. Perhaps you may be useful to someone. Do your research and contact trusted sources. Together we can achieve a free Iran.
AUTHOR
Maryam Nayeb Yazdi is the chief editor for Persian2English.com.
