Informed Source to VOA: Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab Transferred to Solitary Confinement for Boycotting 'Sham Elections'

An informed source told VOA that the prison security officials at Qazal Hesar on Monday transferred political prisoner Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab to solitary confinement due to his boycott of the 'sham elections.' He has announced that he will go on a hunger strike in protest of this action. Following the release of a voice message from Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab expressing solidarity with the majority of the Iranian people in boycotting the 'sham and ceremonial elections' to determine a successor to Raisi, a source close to this political prisoner reported to VOA on Monday, July 2, that the prison officials had cut off his phone and deprived him of the right to contact his family and loved ones. In his voice message on July 2, which VOA has exclusively obtained, Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab emphasized the necessity of 'boycotting the sham and ceremonial elections,' stating that 'the people of Iran, in solidarity, will choose their representatives in a free election after overthrowing the Islamic Republic.' He asserted that 'it is the right of the people to remove a government that oppresses and tortures them and to elect their own representatives in a free election, and to rebuild Iran, which is the land of humanity, with a new constitution.' Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab stressed that 'free elections, transparent and public media, the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and opinion, 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 overthrowing the Islamic Republic.' The first round of voting in the Islamic Republic to determine a successor to Ebrahim Raisi among the candidates considered by the Guardian Council was held on July 2, and government officials claimed that nearly 40% of eligible voters participated, a claim that some observers dispute. The second round of this political event, which opponents describe with terms like 'election circus' and 'sham appointments,' will be held on July 15. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the advertising for this government election continues to face indifference from citizens. The U.S. State Department has emphasized that the 'government elections' in Iran are 'not free and fair.'