Mahbubeh Rezaei, Political Prisoner: Reformists and Principlists Are No Different, Elections Are 'Staged and Preordained'

Mahbubeh Rezaei, a political prisoner held in the women's section of Evin Prison, referred to the upcoming 'staged elections' to replace Ebrahim Raisi as 'preordained appointments' and emphasized that 'if elections were impactful,' the Islamic Republic 'would certainly not give the people the right to choose.' In a message published on the account attributed to Golrokh Iraei on X on Tuesday, June 18, this constitutional monarchist political prisoner accused the Islamic Republic of 'exploiting the feelings of the people' by 'creating an opportunity to choose between bad and worse.' She stressed that 'we have no other way but to pass through the Islamic Republic and create change at all levels and structures of power; the lost legitimacy of this regime after four decades of crime will not be regained,' and 'an aware and united nation never fails.' This political prisoner, emphasizing that 'we will never forget the bloody November and the bloody uprising of 1401,' added: 'Once again, the Islamic government, by exploiting the feelings of the people and creating an opportunity to choose between bad and worse, which has been the method of reformists for years, is seeking legitimacy.' Mahbubeh Rezaei, stressing the slogans 'No to the Islamic Republic' and 'Long live Iran and Iranians,' added: 'We know very well that the Islamic Republic has no legitimacy, and betting on the losing horse of the government is a repetition of past mistakes.' According to this political prisoner, 'in dictatorial and totalitarian regimes, if elections were impactful, the right to choose would certainly not be given to the people.' This constitutional monarchist political prisoner emphasized that 'the experience of reformist and principlist governments in previous years has shown that there is no difference between the two.' She said: 'To those compatriots who are still hopeful about improving the dire conditions of our beloved Iran, I say that staged elections and preordained appointments are not a suitable solution.' Previously, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraei, another political prisoner, had stated that the people of Iran remember the 'betrayal of reformists' from the very first day and that they use the people as 'cannon fodder' to return to power. The next presidential election of the Islamic Republic, which many consider to be 'appointments' and a 'circus election,' will be held early on July 8 to determine the president of the fourteenth government following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. Several political figures have previously emphasized that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Alireza Zakani, Masoud Pezeshkian, and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh, the six candidates to succeed Raisi, are all agents of the Islamic Republic in contradiction to the Iranian people. Mahbubeh Rezaei, a monarchist political activist who has previously been imprisoned, was accused in a joint case with Reza Mohammad Hosseini and Samaneh Noroozi Moradi of 'propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic,' 'membership in opposition groups,' 'insulting sacred values,' and 'removing the hijab.' In January 2024, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals issued a final ruling for these three constitutional monarchist activists, sentencing Mahbubeh Rezaei to '19 years and 9 months in prison and a monetary fine,' Samaneh Noroozi Moradi to '11 years in prison,' and Reza Mohammad Hosseini to '14 years and 6 months in prison and a monetary fine.' An informed source at that time described the issued sentences as 'unjust' and emphasized that these three political activists 'committed no crime' and their activities were 'only for freedom-seeking' and within the framework of 'freedom of expression.'