Incarcerated journalist Mahsa Amrababdi was first arrested in June 2009, when she spent approximately 3 months in solitary confinement in Evin’s ward 209 under the supervision of the Intelligence Ministry.

Amrabadi was arrested by agents of the Intelligence Ministry a second time in March 2010 under the pretext that she had attended the rallies protesting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, when in reality at the time of her arrest she was driving her car far from the location of the rallies. She was sentenced to 1 year of non-suspended prison (a sentence in which the defendant must physically serve their prison sentence) and 4 years of suspended prison (a sentence in which the defendant is watched carefully but is not physically in prison) by the Revolutionary Courts, in a trial presided over by Judge Pir Abassi. Amrabadi was summoned to Evin prison on May 11th, 2012 in order to serve her one year prison sentence.

The following note was written by Mahsa Amrabadi’s mother on the occasion of the 200th day of her incarceration:

200 days have passed since that unbelievable day when they took you to prison. We never would have thought that after all the suffering you had endured as a result of your husband being behind bars, in addition to being the family of a political prisoner you would now also play the role of a political prisoner yourself. I did not believe that some day both Mahsa and her husband would be in prison, for they had informed us that at least for the time being, they did not intend to imprison all members of the family.

200 days have passed since the day my daughter packed her suitcase filled with books and headed for Evin prison. She bid me farewell on the phone, insisting that I not accompany her to the prison gates for the moment of separation would have been harder for her to endure than all the moments spent behind bars.

200 days have passed since my daughter was taken from us and during this time every Saturday I have headed for Evin prison so that I may hear her voice from behind a cabin visitation window, and every week Mahsa speaks of patience, fortitude and a Green future for herself and her compatriots.

My daughter says: “I am a journalist!” For Mahsa love and the love for her profession were intertwined. She often found her dreams and aspirations in newspaper headings and headlines. My daughter says: “I am still a reformist.” It was through reform, within the framework of the law and void of any form of violence that Mahsa sought to find the ideals of justice.

My daughter says: “I am at Evin prison where nostalgia reigns… I miss all my friends and loved ones.”

200 days have passed since Mahsa left her job at the weekly periodical “Aseman” and headed for prison. I recall her last sentence clearly. “A journalist behind bars is tantamount to depriving an entire nation of their right to freedom of speech.”

The mother of Mahsa Amrabadi

Translated by banooyesabz

Source Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.org/1391/09/19/klm-123464/