Faezeh Hashemi Rejects Participation in Elections: 'Public Hatred' Towards the Islamic Republic Has Reached Its Peak

Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, currently imprisoned in Evin, referred to her father's death as 'martyrdom' and emphasized the necessity of not participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections. In a letter from Evin prison dated 'August 2023' and published on the Zeytoon website on Sunday, August 20, she reacted to the statements of Hossein Marashi, the Secretary-General of the Executives of Construction Party, regarding the elections, deeming them 'contradictory and desperate.' This member of the Executives of Construction Party stated that 'every day laws are written to legitimize injustice and corruption' and questioned the 'competitiveness and integrity of the elections,' asserting that 'our weapon is our refusal, and testing the tested is a mistake.' On July 18, in response to Faezeh Hashemi's call for non-participation in the elections, Hossein Marashi had referred to her as both a 'party member and non-party member' and suggested that she 'should have waited' for the 'party to reach a clear conclusion.' In her letter addressed to Marashi, she called the 'comparison of the conditions of the fifth parliamentary elections and today' a 'false analogy' and stated that the 'absolute power' of Ali Khamenei, 'the complete dominance of the IRGC in all areas, aggressive foreign policy, dire economic situation, lawlessness, lies and hypocrisy, populism, disregard for national interests and public demands and rights, lack of a national perspective, the dominance of a security outlook over all matters, lack of wisdom and prudence in governing the country, widespread and systemic corruption, severe repression of any criticism and protest, and unjust judicial condemnations, public despair and hatred towards the government' are currently 'at their peak.' According to Faezeh Hashemi, 'official positions' have been lost and reformists have been 'erased' due to turning their backs on 'public demands and their promises' and also due to 'ambiguous and dual statements' regarding 'public protests since 2017' in the Iranian political system. Criticizing reformists for 'ignoring the people's votes to maintain their positions in the government' and 'falling behind the people,' she emphasized that 'the erasure of reformists began when they had power, created divisions between insiders and outsiders, placed unworthy individuals in positions of power, and repeatedly wasted opportunities.' The daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani referred to her father's sudden death while swimming in a pool as 'martyrdom' and stated that after the 2013 elections, 'the people turned away from the inaction of their elected representatives in fulfilling their legitimate demands after the martyrdom of Mr. Hashemi and began to fight for their own destiny.' This political prisoner noted that Marashi 'has recently lost hope in politicians' and 'does not attend reformist coalition meetings,' adding: 'The people rightly passed by the reformists since 2017 and did not cast their votes to prevent it from being misused and unjustly regarded as the legitimacy and reputation of the regime.' Faezeh Hashemi pointed out the 'prominence and centrality' of the 'opposition abroad in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement,' stating that this occurred 'due to the major reformists distancing themselves from these protests.' She added: 'We hesitated in this field, left the people alone, led reforms to a dead end with our own hands, and effectively directed society into a radical space alongside the rulers.' Faezeh Hashemi, whose father was one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, also stated that for years, people have been resisting the 'imposed policies' of the Islamic Republic, such as 'mandatory hijab' and 'interference in lifestyle,' through various means including 'gatherings, sit-ins, and protests,' and 'have paid the price to correct their lives.' According to Hashemi, people 'have increasingly challenged the rulers day by day' and their solution is 'to carry out civil disobedience, to ignore the rulers in fulfilling their demands, to increase pressure on the government, and to corner them.' Previously, Fatemeh Haqiqatjou, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told Voice of America that some reformists still draw boundaries with the overthrowists and believe that reform is the only non-violent and low-cost method for the country. Additionally, Najat Bahrami, a political activist, told Voice of America that the Supreme Leader no longer wants reformists and only believes in the effectiveness of 'the top of repression.'