Evin prison on the
northern outskirt of Tehran became a symbol for oppression, violence
and humiliation of human rights in Iran, trying
to break the braveness of the many political
prisoners there.
One
of them, Bahareh
Hedayat, student, political activist,
initiator of the campaign „1 Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws“ and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, recently
send an open letter
to her husband Amin.
This
letter is not only a document of the power of human spirit to resist
torture and oppression, but it is also written in a very beautiful
language that reminds one on the poetry of Hafiz and Rumi.
This
web-site will publish translations of Bahareh Hedayat's letter in
different languages, thus forming a Rosetta Stone like document that
should remind people all over the world of the situation of Mrs.
Hedayat and of other political prisoners in Iran.
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Isa Saharkhiz, a prominent journalist and one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom in Iran was violently arrested in July 2009 and consequently suffered broken ribs. He was later tried and sentenced to three years in prison for “Insulting the Supreme Leader and the regime”, banned from all political and journalistic activities for five years and prohibited from leaving the country for one year.
He has recently written a letter from
Rajai Shahr prison to the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur
Dr. Ahmad Shaheed, urging him to take immediate action and travel to
Iran. Saharkhiz describes the Iranian prison system for political
activists as a sophisticated program to mentally and physically destroy
its victims.
Heshmat Tabarzadi
is an Iranian journalist and democratic activist. He was arrested on
December 28, 2009, in front of his wife and son by agents who also
seized his books, papers, and computer, and is currently being held at
an unknown location.
Tabarzadi
published an opinion
piece in the Wall Street Journal on December 17, 2009. In his
op-ed, he wrote: "If the government continues to opt for violence,
there very well may be another revolution in Iran. One side has to step
down. And that side is the government—not the people.
Tabarzadi was
viewed by the regime as one of the leaders of the student protests of
July 9, 1999. He was arrested and spent nine years in Evin Prison,
including two in solitary confinement, for his activities as a student
leader.
On October 3rd
Heshmatollah Tabarzadi was sentenced to 9 years in prison and 74 lashes
He has been
convicted of conspiracy and assembly to commit a crime against national
security and insulting the Supreme Leader. Tabarzadi was detained on
December 28th after the Ashura protests and transferred to solitary
confinement in Ward 209 of the Evin Prison. He was later transferred to
the Rajaei Shahr prison for protesting the execution of the 5 Kurdish
activists including Farzad Kamangar. From Rajaei Shahr he wrote a response
to his political trial.
Heshmat's son
Hossein has visited his father after he participated in several
hunger strikes. His son was most concerned
about the critical health conditions of Mr. Tabarzadi which are a
direct consequence of the deleterious conditions at this notorious
detention facility.
Mehdi (Kourosh) Kouhkan,
political prisoner in Ward 350,
is in need of surgery. The judicial authorities have halted his
treatment and have failed to transfer him to a hospital. He is in poor
condition and may lose his leg if he is not treated.
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Ahmad Zeidabadi is an imprisoned journalist and the
Secretary General of Tahkim Vahdat, a prominent student alumni
organization in Iran. He has been imprisoned for 767 days
and has not been granted furlough. He was sentenced to six years
in prison and five years exile to Gonabad (a county in the Razavi
Khorasan province in Iran). In May 2011, an independent international jury of 12
media professionals selected Mr Zeidabadias the laureate of this year’s
UNESCO/Guillermo
Cano World Press Freedom Prize. His letter from Rajai
Shahr ‘Gohardasht’ prison to his wife Mahdieh Mohammadi on the occasion
of her birthday
was recently published by Advar-News.
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Nasrin
Sotoudeh, a lawyer, women and human rights activist who has been
imprisoned in Evin prison for over nine months, has written a few
letters to her children, her three year old son Nima and her eleven
year old daughter, Mehraveh. She has written these letters on paper
tissues since she has been denied stationary. A photocopy of the
original letters written on toilet paper is attached. (Source: The feminist school)
Ms. Sotoodeh was put on trial in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.
She was charged with propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s
regime, acting against national security, and membership in the
Association of Human Rights Defenders. She has been sentenced to 11
years of punitive imprisonment and barred from practicing law or
leaving the country for 20 years due to these charges. In addition, she
was fined 50, 000 tomans (approximately $50) for appearing improperly
veiled in a video clip of a speech of hers.
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If you would like to contribute a translation to a language not yet listed, please e-mail to evin-rosetta (at) persian-cat.de