Exclusive; Joanna Timisi: Families of Political Prisoners Should Inform Nada Al-Nashif About Human Rights Violations in Iran

Joanna Timisi, the wife of Mohsen Mazloom, rejected the security accusations against this political prisoner at risk of execution and emphasized the "scenario-making" of the Islamic Republic for four Kurdish prisoners. She told Voice of America that families of political prisoners should inform Nada Al-Nashif about human rights violations in Iran. On Thursday, Bahman 5, she referred to the three-day visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' deputy to Iran, stating that the Islamic Republic wants to advance its "wicked goals" during this visit, but "it is our duty as families of political prisoners and also victims of the Jina Revolution not to allow this and to inform the international community about the human rights violations in Iran." In this context, on the eve of the UN High Commissioner's deputy's visit to Iran, the mothers of four political prisoners at risk of execution emphasized the "baselessness" of the accusations against their children and called on Nada Al-Nashif to work to stop the "execution process" against them. Joanna Timisi discussed this letter with Voice of America, stating: "Alongside Nada Al-Nashif's three-day visit, my mother-in-law and the mothers of three other death-row prisoners wrote a letter to her explaining the situation of these four political prisoners over the past year and seven months and their enforced disappearance. According to her, the mothers of the four political prisoners sentenced to death have requested a meeting with the UN High Commissioner's deputy to learn more about the details of their cases." The wife of Mr. Mazloom referred to the "symbolic movement of women in Evin prison" and their public hunger strike for the cancellation of the death sentences, calling this action "commendable and supportive." She announced her own hunger strike and its continuation in the coming days, adding: "I hope that together, united and free from political differences, we can exert pressure on the Islamic Republic at the international level to stop the killing machine in Iran." Joanna Timisi, rejecting the accusations against her husband, Mohsen Mazloom, and three other political prisoners sentenced to death, said that "they went to Urmia for political activities and were arrested," but "the Islamic Republic started scenario-making. They were accused of spying for Israel with the intention of blowing up a facility." She emphasized that "these accusations are false; they have no connection to Israel and no expertise in bomb-making, and we reject these accusations." Afshaneh Yousefi, mother of Pejman Fatahi, Gohar Chashnigar, mother of Vafa Azarbar, Badiyeh Sharifpour, mother of Mohammad Faramarzi, and Mahbubeh Nalbandian, mother of Mohsen Mazloom, on Thursday, Bahman 5, in their letter to the UN High Commissioner's deputy, requested that she work to create "the necessary executive guarantees to stop this systematic killing." The mothers of these four Kurdish political prisoners also emphasized that the issuance of death sentences for their children was based on "groundless accusations" and "fabrication by security agencies" and followed "18 months of enforced disappearance and forced confessions under torture, in an illegal and extrajudicial process, and in a rapid, opaque, and unjust manner." They asked her to use all means to ensure that the execution process for their children and other death row inmates in Iran is "immediately stopped." They also wrote that they expect her to pressure the Islamic Republic officials to grant the right to meet with family, the right to have a designated lawyer, and to review the cases and hold trials in a fair, public, and impartial court. These mothers also stated: "As worried mothers who have no remedy or refuge, we request you to allocate time for a meeting with us; that is, the mothers seeking justice, during your visit to Tehran so that you can be informed closely about the history and details of our children's cases." Executions in Iran have intensified following widespread protests after the killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, and international human rights organizations have repeatedly warned about their continuation. Dozens of political prisoners in Iran announced that today, Thursday, they will simultaneously go on hunger strike in protest against the executions by the Islamic Republic and to stop them. Additionally, many civil and political activists inside and outside Iran have declared that they will go on hunger strike in solidarity with these political prisoners. The deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran suppresses to remain in power, asserting that none of the aspects of the political system in the Islamic Republic of Iran are democratic or transparent, including the management, judicial, and electoral sectors. According to Vedant Patel, the world has been aware of this reality for some time.