Even as the Islamic theocracy of Iran is being threatened by the U.S.-backed genocidal Israel, it continues to execute its own population at a harrowing rate. On October 2, Iran’s mullah regime finished firing a barrage of missiles at Israel while hanging seven prisoners in Ghezel Hesar prison in the city of Karaj, known for its waterfalls just 26 miles outside of Iran’s capital Tehran. Two days later, iranwire.com wrote, “The Islamic Republic authorities have executed at least ten more prisoners over the past two days.” The pace of executions is dizzying, even as the numbers are often underestimations due to difficulty of verification under this regime. The continual, determined resistance of Iran’s prisoners is shining a light on the possibility of another, better future.

In 2023, Amnesty International reported 853 executions in Iran. Ghezel Hesar reportedly had the highest recorded number of executions within that horrific rate. It is Iran’s largest, and severely overcrowded state prison. In early 2024, it became renowned by its prisoners boldly initiating the “Tuesdays No to Execution” hunger strike political movement.

An October 1 Instagram post by Burn the Cage/Free the Birds organization based in Europe gives the following perspective:

What has always made the issue of executions so serious is that it is fundamental to the functioning of this government. This means that whatever the charges against the accused, the ultimate goal of executions is to intensify repression. And, as we have seen, the number of executions has significant correlation with the domestic and international situation, when [the IRI] is unable to resolve problems of direction, it takes revenge, and the most readily available means is to erect more nooses. In other words, given their current necessity, they’re taking even more revenge on prisoners and death row inmates in order to conceal their impotence in international affairs, and to threaten and intimidate domestically…

The prisoner-led weekly strike is now into its 36th week, spreading to 22 different prisons across Iran as of Tuesday, October 1, 2024. One of the prisons participating in these weekly hunger strikes is Evin Prison in Tehran, especially the undaunted women’s ward where 2023 Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi is imprisoned. On September 24, as the United Nations General Assembly was welcoming and legitimizing Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, 45 women in the dungeon of Evin went on hunger strike to demand “a halt to executions and the release of political and ideological prisoners.” Their voice was royally ignored by the so-called international community (i.e., imperialist, capitalist states) and their pliant media. Political prisoner Golrokh Iraee in a post on her Instagram signed by “a group of leftist women in Evin” indicted the UN’s overall, historical role saying:

…despite the fact that the UN Fact-Finding mission was not allowed to enter Iran to investigate the 2022 massacres—the United Nation held a memorial ceremony following the death of [President Ebrahim] Raisi, the same Raisi who had ordered the killings!...

If we the Iranian people, despite the cost of decades of fighting against dictatorship, have not yet achieved our goals, it is because of your recognition of governments like this one, the governments to whom you have given democratic cover and whose actual deeds have received your stamp of approval, while those who always pay the price are the people.

Join in Urgent Support Needed Worldwide for the Hunger Strikers

In late August, in a summer that saw a surge in executions by Iran’s misogynistic rulers and death sentences issued to two women activists (Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi), 60 human rights organizations worldwide issued a joint statement of solidarity with the prisoners’ hunger strike “No to Execution Tuesdays.” A few weeks later, nine Nobel Peace Prize laureates announced similar support for the hunger strikes in a letter that said:

We, the signatories of this statement, declare our support for the campaign against executions on Tuesday and call for an end to this inhumane punishment in Iran.

Among the nine are two Nobel laureates who had also signed the IEC’s Emergency Appeal—Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams.

While these statements and events are extremely important in putting this matter into the public square, much more is needed. Iran’s execution surge has not been widely covered by any mainstream press, in particular NOT in the U.S. It is up to the grassroots to get the word out and not let these prisoners be murdered by Iran’s mullah regime. More protests and statements are needed from around the world. To further cite the stakes of this struggle from the above Burn the Cage Instagram:

We are issuing an alarm about the situation of prisoners who are under death sentences. In the coming weeks, there is a possibility of executions and death sentences increasing, for the above mentioned reasons, and those prisoners are the first to pay the price for the regional failures and domestic weaknesses of the theocratic tyrants that rule our country.

Therefore, we ask all freedom-loving and critical thinking human beings, all human rights activists, domestic and international to be the voice of the prisoners who have been sentenced to death. Do not stand by in silence and allow them to be executed.

An alarm must be sounded about the vicious targeting of Narges Mohammadi by Iran’s regime. She was physically assaulted in the Evin women prison yard sit-in, and has endured repeated denial of critical medical care. On her social media administered by her family in Paris, there is this alert: “In the past month, prison authorities have prevented Narges Mohammadi from leaving prison to undergo angiography.” This is a direct threat to the life of this lifelong and determined prisoner of conscience, and protest of her treatment must be expressed with urgency.

Burn the Cage will be hosting a “No to Execution Tuesdays” solidarity event on October 11, 2024 in Cologne, Germany. So far, announced speakers are Hamid Narviei (activist on matters related to Baluchestan, Iran); Somayeh Kargar (Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist); Sara Sadighi (activist and analyst on queer matters and an ex-political prisoner); Shoresh Karimi (Communist Party of Iran in Cologne, Germany); Atefeh Huseini (women rights activist and ex-political prisoner under Taliban rule in Afghanistan).

The continual, determined resistance of Iran’s prisoners is shining a light on the possibility of another, a better future other than an Islamic religious theocratic nightmare masked as “axis of resistance.” The question asks itself—“resistance” to what? The IRI is NOT a genuine resistance to capitalism-imperialism in the interest of the people, of Iran, in the region or the world. The “No to Execution Tuesdays” prisoner-led movement in Iran should be firmly supported as real resistance to an oppressive regime.

Find creative ways to raise these demands in your school, campus, church, community groups—online or on the ground: STOP EXECUTIONS IN IRAN! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW! STOP U.S./ISRAELI WAR THREATS AND MOVES AGAINST IRAN! LIFT U.S. SANCTIONS!

A regime collaborator in the women’s ward of Evin prison issued an open letter just days before the second anniversary of the state murder of Jina “Mahsa” Amini that had sparked the months-long Woman, Life, Freedom (or Jina) Uprising.¹ This letter was immediately spread like wildfire all over Iran’s state media, and repeated by some Western outlets. Shortly thereafter, she is granted parole. Smell a rat? This vicious attack coincided with the brave action of 25 women in Evin’s prison yard, and their hunger strike by 34 the next day to mark and uphold the Jina uprising with the ending call: “women of the world, join us!”

Immediately this attack is answered but the response was largely ignored or outright suppressed. Evin political prisoner Golrokh Iraee, via her social media, posted a detailed response that reads in part:

Recently, a letter resembling a confession caught the attention of the public. In this letter, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of our fellow inmates, standing alongside the prison authorities, claimed she [might be] killed by her fellow inmates. She specifically targeted leftists and human rights activists, labeling them as hollow drums and little dictators. I am one of her leftist fellow inmates. Despite clear and sharp ideological and class divisions, based on collective decision-making…we chose to tolerate her…[to] form a single body against the prison authorities….

This unified body constantly suffers from the pain of fellow inmates who have brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, heart attack risks, epilepsy (one of whom is pregnant), respiratory issues, asthma, and joint problems or age-related issues. These patients require treatment, yet they are often merely examined by the general prison doctor in an infirmary lacking specialized facilities, rather than receiving the necessary care. We are one body, understanding that some of our fellow inmates have no financial deposits for months, despite claims that they can purchase their necessities from the prison store.

We learned to fight like this: in prison, under pressure, in exile, and coexisting with any kind of political and non-political convicts—in Evin, in Qarchak, or in provincial prisons, in solitary confinement, under interrogation, and in complete ignorance of our families and the rise and fall of society. Despite severe or consecutive sentences, we neither give up hope nor abandon our struggle.

After multiple convictions, bans, and prohibitions, we still stand firm in what we believe. No consequences of pressure or threats will distance or separate us from the “belief” we hold. Because our belief is the core of our struggle and shapes our political life. We did not enter this arena out of convenience, nor is the struggle our inheritance. We walked barefoot into a path full of thorns. That’s why we are still standing without bowing down. We fear neither the threats of the government nor the slander and blackmail. We know well the hidden arms of power and will not fall into the traps of security [police] games or the outdated tactics of the government and its officials. We have stood against tyranny, exploitation, and dictatorship. We have nothing to do with those who grovel, attempting to sustain the existing order by recanting their stances, becoming the darling of state media. We measure our strength by observing the enemy’s lineup and assess our adversary by reviewing its allies and supporters. [Emphasis added]

The women’s ward of Evin prison, whose voice of protest has repeatedly reached beyond the walls in recent months, has been our home for years. But we have not become accustomed to it and still think about tearing down the walls… The women’s ward, with its high stone walls, increasing number of doors every year, and key-holding guards, has not been a place where the voice of justice prevails. But it has become so through the presence of mothers who have left their children behind, beyond the tough beliefs, these unkind walls, and years of separation… We continue to stand firm on our beliefs.

—Golrokh Iraee, September 19, 2024, Evin Prison Women’s Ward

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Faezeh Hashemi’s open letter is a backstabbing, groveling attack on the women political prisoners, dangerously setting them up for an escalation of violent repression with slanders that invite distancing and doubt from their supporters. This new level of danger is no exaggeration. Her lies bolster the regime’s attempts to portray political prisoners, especially the courageous women in Evin, as a pampered bunch of malingerers, a charge often echoed by pro-Shah monarchists who call it “Hotel Evin.”

This attack plays into today’s populist distrust of revolutionary leadership, and aims to split the unity of “the left” and the “human rights” forces. She even traffics in anti-communism by idiotic references to (phony communist) North Korea. By extension, hers is a vengeful attack on the masses and the historic Jina uprising which continues to reverberate with women and men in Iran and around the world.

Faezeh is a conscious and vicious IRI operative who must be opposed, not supported by honest dissidents (e.g. Nasrin Sotoudeh). Her billionaire father, Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was a founding member of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), its past president, whose official crimes she never denounced or renounced. She was educated in England, a former member of parliament and a lifelong leading operative in the “reformist” wing of the IRI. Faezeh came into mild opposition to some policies of the IRI’s “hardline” rulers, was arrested briefly after the 2009 election protests, and again in 2022 during the Jina uprising when she compared the IRI to the ultra-women-hating religious fanatics, the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Responses by Those Upholding Evin Women Prisoners’ Resistance

Many former political prisoners and their supporters have denounced Hashemi’s letter, especially noting its uncanny timing with the Jina anniversary and its promotion in state media. Besides Golrokh Iraee’s letter, another substantive response was sent exclusively to Radio Zamaneh by an anonymous author. It details the voting day incident and the principled stand of the prisoner protesters.

U.S. and Western Allies Treacherous Duplicity

On the occasion of the second anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s death, U.S. officials (with Australia and Canada) imposed new sanctions on individuals in the IRI. The State Department sanctimoniously intoned, “The voices of the Iranian people demanding basic freedoms deserve to be heard. The United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to promote accountability for the regime’s human rights abuses.”

One may ask where are the sanctions against the murderous state and individuals of Israel in the year of genocide in Palestine? To do so means the U.S. would need to sanction itself as the chief aider and abettor of Israel. Over the years U.S. sanctions have principally and intentionally targeted the Iranian economy and population, to force a pro-U.S.-imperialist “regime change,"² causing horrific 35% annual inflation, lack of lifesaving medicines, and lack of spare parts for critical infrastructure.

Blogger and journalist Reza Akvanian noted that

In the days leading up to the second anniversary of the ‎‎#womanlifefreedom uprising, the Islamic Republic tried to silence the voices of political prisoners' protests by widely publishing Faezeh Hashemi's letter of repentance... ‎Some media outlets outside the country, including IranWire and BBC Persian, consciously or not, left no stone unturned to achieve the regime's goal, with coverage in line with the Islamic Republic's. In addition to publishing Faezeh's repentance letter, [they] tried in various reports to portray murderous and tyrannical monsters from the faces of the political prisoners in the Evin Women's Ward… Golrokh's letter was sent to foreign media that had published the destructive letter of Faiza Hashemi against the imprisoned women fighters, but except for Iran Wire, (... which published it on its website and Instagram), nothing more than one paragraph... the BBC devoted about 2000 words in three reports to Faezeh; but...Golrokh Iraee..., was considered worthy of only 37 words....Why did such discrimination occur?

Not Time to Be Spectators Vs. Be Makers of History

Faezeh’s letter is a strategic ideological attack on the legitimacy of resistance and in support of the legitimacy of a regime which was badly shaken by the uprising. The regime, its apologists, and the “loyal opposition” are all doing their utmost to delegitimize these unrepentant women political prisoners and by extension endanger the lives of ALL the political prisoners in Iran today. The threat to them is real and acute. The time is now to stop merely observing and applauding the bravery of the women in Evin, the prisoner-led hunger strikes (now into its 35^th week as of Tuesday 9/24) or the IEC’s work. It is time to step up and act including by further spreading the IEC 8/25 webinar far and wide as campuses reopen. There is nothing like it in informative and invigorating content. In the spirit of the call from Evin women prisoners “people of the world, join us.” Donate and volunteer with the IEC by writing to us today: freeiranspoliticalprisonernow@gmail.com.

FOOTNOTES:

1. For background and significance of this uprising, see "Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution: The Two-Year Anniversary of the Historic ‘Jina Uprising’ in Iran,” revcom.us, September 16, 2024.

2. On February 14, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CBS News, "Things are much worse for the Iranian people [with the U.S. sanctions], and we are convinced that will lead the Iranian people to rise up and change the behavior of the regime” (emphasis added.) The U.S. Treasury Department itself predicted that US policies would lead to Iran’s “mounting financial isolation and economic stagnation.”