Exclusive | Transfer of a Civil Activist to Prison; Hamidreza Najafi: My Life is Devoted to Iran a Thousand Times

An informed source told Voice of America that Hamidreza Najafi, a civil activist in Markazi Province who had been summoned to serve a prison sentence, presented himself to the judicial authority on Wednesday, December 8, and was transferred to prison. According to this source close to Hamidreza Najafi, this civil activist and entrepreneur visited the Fourth Branch of the Execution of Sentences of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in the central province and was subsequently transferred to Arak Prison. Najafi's summons and transfer to prison were for the execution of an eight-month sentence that had been communicated to him two days prior. On Wednesday, Najafi emphasized in a message from outside Arak Prison: 'I have one life, and I would dedicate it a thousand times to Iran.' In this message directed at the officials of the Islamic Republic, he stated: 'You have lied to us from the beginning. You took over a country that was on the path of development and progress without having a single line of program for this land.' This civil activist and entrepreneur stressed that government officials are destroying 'the ancient land of Iran and its people to maintain the Islamic Republic.' He added: 'You only spoke the truth once, when you said our first priority is the regime itself.' Najafi also pointed out that 'there was no thought, knowledge, or wisdom in your system' to create 'a developmental program for the country's progress,' and 'your 45-year record is proof of this.' Before presenting himself to prison, Najafi told the officials of the Islamic Republic that they 'introduced yourselves and your ideology as representatives of God to justify your actions,' but 'our priority is Iran.' He also criticized the 45-year record of the Islamic Republic and recalled a phrase from Fatemeh Sepahri that said, 'The Iranian nation should wake up,' stating that there are people in Iran willing to endure the costs of imprisonment and sacrifice their lives to protect their homeland and 'the ancient land of Iran.' Hamidreza Najafi has faced several cases in various branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Arak and also in the criminal court regarding his critical opinions published on social media. On October 25, this civil activist told the Persian section of Voice of America that he had two separate cases with charges of 'inciting people to war and killing each other' and 'propaganda against the regime' in the second and third branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which were consolidated and referred to the second branch, where he was sentenced to 'three years and six months in prison.'