Arsham Rezaei: '12 Agents' Attacked My Mother's House to Arrest Me

Arsham Rezaei, a constitutionalist civil activist, reported an 'assault' by 12 government agents 'disguised as electricity company officials' at his mother's house with the intent to arrest him. Rezaei, a former political prisoner, stated that on Tuesday, September 7, agents from the 'IRGC Intelligence' introduced themselves as 'electricity company officials' and seized 'all identity documents and bank cards' before leaving. In a video message directed at the Islamic Republic forces, he emphasized: 'If I am currently fleeing from you, it does not mean I am afraid. I will not leave the playing field for a few hyenas like you.' He also added: 'We will see you on the streets on September 25, and rest assured we will stand firmly against you there as well. We are not afraid of anything. We will sacrifice our lives, but we will not give up on our Iran.' As the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death and the nationwide protests in Iran approaches, pressure on civil and political activists and the fabrication of cases against them by the security and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic has intensified. Arsham Rezaei is one of six constitutionalist activists for whom a joint case has been opened by the IRGC Intelligence with charges of 'gathering and collusion' and 'propaganda against the regime' at the third branch of the Evin Prosecutor's Office. This comes despite reports from informed sources to Voice of America indicating that some of these individuals have not seen each other yet, and currently four of them are in prison. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on July 18 in response to a question from a Voice of America Persian journalist that the Islamic Republic has not learned from recent protests.