Bahareh Hedayat, Political Prisoner: My Hunger Strike is a Renewal of Commitment to the Public Conscience of Iranians for Freedom

Bahareh Hedayat, a political prisoner currently on a hunger strike, described the Islamic Republic as 'inevitable to fall' and emphasized the necessity of political conscience to save Iran from the 'quagmire of a totalitarian religious government.' In her letter dated Saturday, September 9, she stated that her hunger strike is a renewal of commitment to the 'public conscience of Iranians for freedom' and the 'uprising of Mahsa on the eve of its anniversary.' She also referred to political conscience as the 'authentic source of power' for the people and a fundamental need to rescue Iran from the 'quagmire of a totalitarian religious government.' In part of her letter, she linked the end of the Islamic Republic to 'thoughtful political action based on conscience' and emphasized that the prolonged existence of this government equates to 'diminishing the lifespan of this land and nation.' She wrote that her 'life, freedom, or imprisonment' is only significant if it increases the will for 'overthrowing the government.' Bahareh Hedayat also viewed her hunger strike as 'a bowing down to the grieving families, especially their suffering from the repressions they have endured recently.' She has been on hunger strike since Thursday, September 9, in protest against issues including the 'double repression' of protesters by the Iranian government and the death of Javad Rouhi, a prisoner protester. Several student activists and grieving families have expressed concern for Bahareh Hedayat's health in recent days and called for her hunger strike to end. Over 80 student activists wrote a letter on Friday, September 17, reminding the need for 'aware lives and the protection of human capital for a better tomorrow,' urging Bahareh Hedayat to end her hunger strike. The family of Javad Rouhi, the deceased protester in prison, also recently wrote a letter requesting Bahareh Hedayat to end her hunger strike, emphasizing her 'essential existence' for the Iranian nation. Bahareh Hedayat is currently serving a four-year and eight-month sentence in Evin Prison for participating in a protest against the IRGC's missile strike on a Ukrainian airplane. As the anniversary of the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police approaches, government pressure on journalists, civil and political activists, lawyers, labor activists, educators, and critics has intensified.