Responding to a recent verdict against a prominent Iranian sociologist, former political prisoner Abolfazl Ghadiani (Qadiani) has suggested that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s fears public awareness.
Saeed Madani, a sociologist, university professor, and political activist associated with the national-religious movement, received a nine-year prison sentence in November 2022 on charges such as "forming and managing opposition groups, conspiring against national security, and propagating against the regime." He had voiced support for anti-government protests at the time. Following this, he was transferred from Evin Prison to Damavand Prison on Tuesday.
“Khamenei, the tyrannical and ruthless dictator of Iran, and his oppressive supporters are in constant fear of public awareness and the spread of public knowledge; and for this reason, they are hostile to Madani and others like him and make them the target of their hatred and revenge,” Ghadiani said in a letter released on Thursday. In recent years, the former revolutionary and supporter of the Islamic Republic has turned into a staunch critic of Khamenei’s regime.
According to the former political prisoner, the regime has intensified its repressive measures against protesters and dissenters following the massive boycott of Iran’s recent elections in March that he and others have dubbed as Khamenei’s “disastrous fiasco.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader time and again called on Iranians to vote in parliamentary and the Assembly of Experts elections held on March 1. However, according to official statistics, only around 40% of the eligible voters participated in the elections, the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic. Many opposition activists contend that the actual turnout was even lower than the one announced by the government.
Calling the regime’s rising pressure on Madani “futile,” Ghadiani stressed that the sociologist and other political prisoners “will continue their struggle against tyranny under any circumstances and will have even greater impact.”
Further in his letter, the political dissident rejected Khameni’s reign over Iran as “illegal, illegitimate and usurping,” warning that the regime’s oppressions will continue as long as he is in power. At the end of his letter, Ghadiani expressed hope that Iranians would be able to replace the corrupt regime of the Islamic Republic with a secular democratic republic based on human rights.
On Wednesday, several high profile political prisoners voiced condemnation over the recent sentencing of Madani to exile, describing the action as “a desperate attempt to quell dissent.” Among the signatories were Golrokh Iraee, Alireza Eradati, Rasoul Bodaghi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Mahvash Sabet.
Ghadiani, 80, has been one of the most vocal and staunch opponents of Iran’s Supreme Leader over the past years. He belonged to a leftist, revolutionary group that was supporting the Islamic Republic and Khamenei until the disputed presidential election of 2009, when the Supreme Leader backed the questionable re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ghadiani, with many others, protested the results and was jailed to become an opposition figure.
Receiving a 10-month jail sentence in July 2023, he said he is ready to go to prison “in Ali Khamenei’s dictatorial regime.” However, he refused to attend the court session and the authorities have refrained from implementing the verdict.
Zeraati hosted Aliasghar Ramezanpour and Mehdi Parpanchi, Iran International TV editors in his popular program, “Last Word” aired on Friday.
In the beginning of the program, Zeraati expressed his gratitude to all the people who sympathized with him, further calling the Iranian people as his most important source of energy and inspiration.
“I am committed to the pact I made with the audience and the program’s path has not changed, regardless of what happened and what will be revealed in the future about the details of the incident,” he went on to say.
Zeraati was stabbed outside his residence in Wimbledon, south London, on March 29, and sustained injuries to his leg. He was discharged from hospital two days later.
According to a statement by the Metropolitan Police, the motive for the assault remains unclear. However, due to prior threats emanating from Iranian intelligence circles against Iran International journalists, the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command is spearheading the investigation. The police said the three suspects involved in the incident fled the UK shortly after the attack, which occurred just a few months after a plot by the Iranian regime to kill two other Iran International journalists was revealed.
According to Zeraati, he and his wife have been transferred to a safe-house under police supervision since he was discharged from hospital. “I insisted on coming to the studio and resuming my program after a weak of postponement and the London Police and Iran International security team cooperated to make it happen,” he said during his program.
Many human rights organizations, trade unions, political figures and civil activists condemned the assault on Zeraati and demanded that the perpetrators be identified and punished.
On Tuesday, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued a call to the Iranian regime urging an immediate halt to the targeting of journalists. Meanwhile, Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO, called on British authorities to investigate the stabbing attack on Zeraati as a possible act of transnational repression.
Speaking in the “Last Word” program, Aliasghar Ramezanpour and Mehdi Parpanchi emphasized that the network, despite all the threats of the Iranian government, will continue its professional activities to provide vitally needed information to Iranians, who live under widespread media and internet censorship.
Ramezanpour, executive editor of Iran International in London, said: “This kind of attacks and threats are not new to Iranian journalists. The Islamic Republic cannot tolerate courageous journalists who speak out.” Referring to the widespread repression of journalists inside Iran, he added that Tehran has been trying to apply the same policy to Iranian journalists abroad.
The attack on Zeraati was not the first threat against Iran International, but just as previous threats and pressures had no effect on the work of the network, there will be no change in operations now, Ramezanpour pointed out, stressing that governments in the free world are legally obligated to defend freedom of speech.
Iran International television network, based in London and Washington DC, broadcasts news and views 24/7 on satellite to audiences in Iran. In 2022, Iran International temporarily relocated its television broadcast from London to Washington, DC, after police found information about direct threats to two other journalists at the network.
An Austrian national named Mohammad-Hussein Dovtaev on February 13, 2023. He was detained while filming outside the network’s premises. Iran International resumed broadcasting from its new London headquarters on September 25, 2023.
Participating in “Last Word,” Parpanchi, executive news editor at the Washington DC office, condemned the attack on Zeraati as “an attack on free media and freedom of expression” and called on journalists across the globe to react, stand up for journalism and defend freedom of speech.
“Unfortunately, it must be said that the Islamic Republic’s threats will definitely continue its policies. The use of knives, machetes and swords is part of the essence and foundation of the Islamic Republic which has been founded upon bloodshed and has gotten used to it,” Parpanchi pointed out.
He emphasized that Iran International will employ every tool and means available in free countries to hold accountable those responsible for the attacks on its journalists.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, British rights organization ARTICLE 19 voiced extreme concern for the safety of journalists against the threats of the Iranian government.
“The authorities of the Islamic Republic have shown, time and again, that they have no hesitation in using every tool in their armory of repression – from the brutal and unlawful killing of protesters, arbitrary detention of journalists and human rights defenders, to exterritorial threats and operations against dissidents abroad – to maintain their tight grip on power and conceal the atrocities they commit from the eyes of the world,” warned Saloua Ghazouani, Director of ARTICLE 19 Middle East and North Africa Programme.