Political prisoner Atena Daemi sent an open letter from prison which was published in social media on May 26, 2019. In parts of her letter entitled, “Suppression, repression and corruption signal demise of a tyrannical rule,” the human rights activist presently incarcerated in Evin Prison wrote:
“History repeats itself. Only after learning the science of history one can understand that the Islamic Republic regime is not feeling well. Suppression, terror, domestic discontent, protests by various strata of people, poverty and rampant unemployment, denial and absence of civil liberties, along with the increasing number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, illegal heavy sentences, drastic surge in financial corruption, astronomical embezzlements, the chaotic and dangerous state of foreign policy and international relations which have resulted in consecutive back breaking sanctions, have all been signs of weakness and demise of the ruling regime in all (historical) stages. They also signal lack of support both inside the country and abroad for the continued existence (of such regimes) …
“The recent apprehensions of civil and political activists advocating the rights of workers, teachers, women, students, writers, etc. are cause of concern. Of course, the only party that needs to be concerned is the ruling regime! They are concerned and their actions indicate their weakness and disability and that they do not find any other way to preserve their rule. In light of their weakness and such heavy suppression, the only way (for us) is to resist and remain steadfast to achieve the outcome that we have been pursuing for years…
“Nothing can withstand the people’s power and their grim resolve. It is enough for people to be aware and have faith in the goal they seek. It suffices when awareness and selflessness become pervasive…
“In addition to jailing, they try to silence me by denying the most basic rights of a prisoner, by sending me to exile, by fabricating false cases against me, by harassing and intimidating my family, by lying and plotting against me inside the prison and by attributing immoral things to me… They want to suffocate the voice concealed in my pen. But having learned that political prisoners in my country have defied such foolish jokes over the past two decades, like my friends, I keep learning from them to reach what I have been imprisoned for. The more pressure they impose, the closer their demise!! Just like a mother’s pain before delivery. The greater the pain, the closer the birth and the end of all pains…”
Human rights activist Atena Daemi was arrested on October 21, 2019, and sentenced to 14 years in prison for propaganda against the state, association and collusion against national security and insulting Khamenei, among other charges. She is a resistant prisoner who went on hunger strike in April 2017 for 54 days to protest sentencing of her sisters. In February 2018, she was brutalized and sent to exile in Qarchak Prison along with political prisoner Golrokh Iraee. After 81 days of hunger strike by Golrokh which brought the regime to its knees, they were both returned to Evin.
