Exclusive; Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb: I will boycott the 'mock elections' alongside freedom-seeking Iranians

Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, a political prisoner, in an audio message obtained by Voice of America, emphasized the necessity of boycotting the 'mock and staged elections,' stating that 'the people of Iran will choose their representatives for management in a free election after removing the Islamic Republic.' In this audio message from Qazalhasar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, on Thursday, July 7, just one day before the voting among the candidates favored by the Islamic Republic, he recalled the month of Tir as a reminder of Arash the Archer, who 'sacrificed his life for Iran,' and said: 'I say no to the mock and staged elections alongside the concerned and freedom-seeking people of my homeland.' This political prisoner described the Islamic Republic as 'one of the greatest violators of human rights' in the world, which 'supports terrorism' and, through 'plundering and looting' the national wealth of Iranians, 'spends it on terrorist circles, from Hassan Nasrallah and Bashar al-Assad to Yemen and Iraq, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad' in the region, while many 'people of Iran struggle with poverty and misery, facing inflation, unemployment, and homelessness.' Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb stressed the necessity of freeing all political and ideological prisoners, reiterating that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic and the government’s intelligence agencies violate the human dignity and human rights of activists, invading their personal privacy and, among other things, 'fabricating cases against them based on the contents of their phones.' This political prisoner emphasized that 'invading personal privacy, cutting off phone access, and censorship' of prisoners 'is against human practices,' stating that the people of Iran are striving with 'solidarity and cohesion' to 'remove this military and security government that has gathered under the cloak of the leader and the leader's office and is plundering and looting.' He also stated: 'It is the right of the people to remove a government that oppresses and commits injustice and to choose their own representatives for managing the country in a free election and to rebuild Iran with a new constitution that is the 'land of humanity.' Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb emphasized that 'free elections, transparent and popular media, the right to freedom of expression and belief, the right to protest and criticize, and the holding of sit-ins and gatherings' are necessities for a free land that 'the people of Iran will achieve by removing the Islamic Republic.' In another part of this message, Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb emphasized that although he has needed a 'necessary laparoscopic surgery' for the past six months, prison officials are 'playing games' with him, and although 'specialist doctors have said that if surgery is not performed, the existing injury will turn into a disability,' this political prisoner has been deprived of his right to treatment. Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb stressed that this deprivation of the right to treatment is aimed at silencing him, saying: 'But I still have my cry against the dictatorship.' This political prisoner, who has previously gone on hunger strikes in protest against human rights violations by the Islamic Republic in Iran, suffers from 'kidney diseases and very severe hernia' and 'needs surgery.' Additionally, several other political prisoners are also deprived of the opportunity for medical leave or treatment. This issue has drawn criticism from human rights organizations worldwide.