A powerful statement from a group of activist women was published July 8, 2025, on akhbar-rooz.com, translated to English by @iranrevolution.sweden.

In the collective memory of the people of Iran, Evin Prison is not merely a security institution; Evin is a symbol of decades of resistance against repression and of persistence in upholding human dignity. From the 1970s to today, its walls have held intellectuals, students, women, workers, writers, and activists who-at the cost of their freedom-have cried out the truth. A prison built for repression, yet turned into a birthplace of hope, solidarity, and defiance.

In recent days, amidst the turmoil of a twelve-day war-sparked by the savage assault of the fascist and criminal Israeli regime with the backing of the imperialist, power-hungry U.S., targeting the homes and infrastructure of a people already resisting an oppressive regime-the reactionary and repressive Islamic Republic, itself a key player in this chaos under the banner of exporting “Islamic revolution,” has sharpened its blade of repression under cover of this so-called "blessing" of war.

Thus, the racist, genocidal Israeli regime, the fascist, imperialist U.S. government, and the reactionary, criminal Islamic Republic have dragged the people of Iran-like others in the region-directly into a war in which they have neither a stake nor a gain. This war is a continuation of decades of destruction, occupation, dominance, and proxy conflicts across the region.

On the surface, it inflicts new wounds upon the people of Iran and the region. But at a deeper level, it serves the interests of global capitalist-fascist structures and regional power-hungry forces-who, in pursuit of profit, control of resources, and the preservation of economic, political, and cultural dominance, have never hesitated to ignite wars, impose sanctions, orchestrate occupations, and sow instability.

From the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan to the bombings and genocide in Gaza; from the sanctions on regional populations to the repeated interventions in Lebanon and Syria; from assassinations to the orchestration of proxy wars-it's all driven by the same goal: expanding territories, asserting dominance over economic and human resources, deepening exploitation, and crushing resistance.

Amidst this chaos, the Islamic Republic has used the tense war climate— and specifically, the criminal bombing of Evin Prison by Israeli forces, which destroyed major sections of the wards, administration, and clinic-as a pretext to intensify its repression: scattering political prisoners across various prisons under inhumane conditions; severely restricting their communication; launching mass arrests under fabricated espionage charges; increasing execution sentences; and  tightening the overall security atmosphere.

All of these are signs of a deliberate effort to sever the bond between prison and street —a solidarity that, over the past year, gained fresh power through the nationwide campaign "Tuesdays Against Execution": a voice that rose from the darkness of prison cells, protesting not only the death penalty, but structural violence and judicial injustice-fighting not just for survival, but to reclaim human dignity.

In this same spirit of resistance, the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement has remained alive and dynamic inside prisons. Women prisoners have become its torchbearers in the heart of darkness-standing firm in the face of humiliation, torture, solitary confinement, and denied visitation. These women know that freedom does not lie solely in liberating oneself, but in imagining and building a different world for all.

Now, in a moment of peak weakness and desperation, the regime foolishly imagines it can silence all these voices, break the solidarity between prison and street, uproot existing movements, and distort public unity into supposed "alignment with the state." It tries to erase the will of a people united in their desire to overthrow it-through widespread arrests, escalated executions, and by passing medieval punishments of torture and long imprisonment under the pretext of wartime conditions. It has even weaponized the expulsion of Afghan migrants, inflicting yet another wound on our society, hoping to crush our collective determination.

This very war, which has caused mass displacement, hunger, and homelessness, is now being used as an excuse for mass deportations of Afghan migrants without trial, in a manner that is degrading and devoid of basic human principles. Many of these migrants-born, educated, and raised in Iran-are being forcibly returned to a land devastated by Taliban rule, violence, and poverty. This is not a security measure, but a means of diverting public attention, hollowing out solidarity, and sowing division among the oppressed.

We, women, from the heart of this wounded but radiant history, declare: All political prisoners must be freed! Freedom is neither a privilege nor a favor; it is a human right.

We demand:

* Immediate abolition of death sentences,

* An end to the systemic repression inside prisons,

* Unconditional release of all political and ideological prisoners,

* Humane living conditions for non-political prisoners,

* A full stop to the mass deportations of Afghan immigrants

In a time when fascism and reaction grow more rabid, we still believe in humanity and struggle — because it is still possible to stand, hand in hand, for the liberation of political prisoners, for the abolition of executions, for the freedom of all people, and for the creation of a society free from all forms of discrimination, domination, and power-hunger.

We shout: #WomanLifeFreedom

July 8, 2025

A group of active women inside the country