January 25th, 2012 [Kalame] In an open letter addressed to the nation of Iran, 39 political prisoners call upon the nation to come together to create public awareness regarding the upcoming sham and rigged parliamentary elections in February, and continue to do everything in their power to ensure that the detained leaders of the Green movement are released in the month of February. Moreover the 39 political prisoners request that all independent human rights organizations and freedom fighting individuals across the globe, lend their support to the unconditional release of the leaders of Iran’s Green protest movement.
The full content of the letter as provided to Kaleme is as follows:
In the name of God,
While military and security forces are engaged in controlling the upcoming 9th sham and rigged parliamentary elections, the oppression and pressure on political activists and journalists in Iran continues to augment with the passing of each day. Our society is witnessing a political impasse never before experienced in previous elections. The extreme security atmosphere imposed by an oppressive coup government continues to take victims every day. Furthermore, the leaders of Iran’s Green opposition movement Mr Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mr. Mehdi Karroubi and Mrs. Rahnavard continue behind house arrest and are subjected to extreme pressure and ever increasing, worrisome restrictions.
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been under illegal house arrest for almost a year, when their only crime was to insist that the rights of their constituents be upheld. A year ago, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi applied for a permit to rally and called upon the nation of Iran to come to the streets in support of the freedom fighting movements of Egypt and Tunisia and other countries in the region. The illegitimate ruling government refused to allow such a rally, just as they had denied citizens their right to protest on June 12th, 2009. When the power of a ruling government is not derived from the actual votes of its citizens and through a democratic process, opposition forces are not only denied the right to exist, but also face extreme oppression. The violent and inhumane confrontations after the infamous 2009 presidential elections led to tens of innocent citizens sacrificing their lives to the ambitions of an authoritarian government, while thousand of others [from the elite to the ordinary and the unknown] were violently attacked, accosted and thrown behind bars.
Following the calling by the leaders of the Green movement, many freedom fighting Iranians across our nation came to the streets. The demonstrations by the supporters of the Green movement, 20 months after the coup elections were so glorious that the ruling government had no recourse but to resort to brute force and lies, detaining the leaders of the Green movement much like other political prisoners, journalists, lawyers, professors and students preceding them.
It is now more than 11 months since the illegal arrest and detention of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard. When the ruling government is seeking to fill the parliamentary seats under a cloud of oppression and tyranny, it is the duty of the freedom fighting citizens of Iran to further expand and develop their protest movement and as a first step do everything in their power to ensure the release of their leaders.
The reformists and true freedom fighters responded positively to the assessment of their detained leaders, the calling by those of us behind bars and the demands of the majority of political groups and Iranian citizens, refusing to engage in a rigged parliamentary election process and further oppression. The achievement of national sovereignty through a free, fair and healthy election process remains one of the main goals of the Green movement. The first step in this process as laid out in our two statements published in November and December, is the unconditional release of the honorable, honest and determined leaders of the Green movement.
To this end, we call upon all our freedom fighting citizens across the globe to create public awareness regarding the upcoming sham and rigged parliamentary elections in February, and continue to do everything in their power to ensure that the detained leaders of the Green movement are released in the month of February.
Furthermore we ask all freedom fighters across the globe, including all independent human rights organizations to support us in obtaining the unconditional release of the leaders of Iran’s Green opposition movement from this illegal and cruel detention.
We the signatories of this statement have all personally paid a heavy price for insisting that our legal rights be upheld. We have never hesitated when it comes to seeking justice. We believe that there is a cost associated with achieving such justice and the ideals of the people’s revolution in 1979, republicanism, freedom, independence, prosperity and progress will only be regained through sustained effort and lack of despair. This is a journey that began with the Constitutional and National Movements and will continue with the hopeful, perseverance of the patient companions of the Green movement.
Signatories:
1. Bahman Ahmadi Amoui
2. Hassan Asadi Zeidabadi
3.Javad Emam
4. Mohsen Amin Zadeh
5. Massoud Bastandi
6. Emad Bahavar
7. Seyed Ali Reza Beheshti Shirazi
8. Seyed Mostafa Tajzadeh
9. Saeed Jalalifar
10. Ali Jamali
11. Amir Khoram
12. Babak Dashab
13. Mohammad Davari
14. Majid Dori
15. Amir Khosro Dalirsani
16. Ali reza Rajai
17. Hossein Zarini
18. Isa Saharkhiz
19. Davood Soleymani
20. Mohammad Seyfzadeh
21. Ghasem Shole Saadi
22 Keyvan Samimi
23. Fereydoon Seyedizad
24. Jalil Taheri
25. Mohammad Farid Taheri Ghazvini
26. Feyzollah Arabsorkhi
27. Siyamak Ghaderi
28. Abolfazl Ghadyani
29. Farshad Ghorbanpour
30. Saeed Matinpour
31. Mohsen Mohagheghi
32. Mehdi Mahmoudian
33. Mohammad reza Motamadnia
34. Ali Malihi
35. Abdollah Momeni
36. Mohsen Mirdamadi
37. Behzad Nabavi
38. Ziya Nabavi
39. Abolfazl Abedini
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Source: Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.com/1390/11/05/klm-88130/