Message from a Political Prisoner to Rivals of Raisi's Succession: The Oppressor Will Never Reach Their Destination

Armita Paveer, a student activist imprisoned in Tabriz prison, in a voice message that reached Qasem Badi, a member of the board of "ADAP" and her former lawyer, stated: "We are certain that the oppressor will never reach their destination." In this voice message, Paveer described the candidates approved by the Guardian Council for the presidency of the 14th government of the Islamic Republic as lacking the power to execute and fulfill promises, emphasizing: "At best, you are executors of a legal book filled with flaws and deficiencies that you will never be able to rectify." She referred to Tabriz prison and other prisons in Iran as the "end of the world" and added on the night when six government-selected candidates were debating women's rights in Iran: "Many women in prison have been accused of killing their husbands, women who sought refuge in your institutions multiple times but returned empty-handed and hopeless, ultimately becoming killers in self-defense and ending up in prison." This imprisoned student activist further noted: "The young women and girls currently in prisons are suffering the consequences of your negligence, as they have either been forced into theft due to poverty or have fallen prey to usurers who have both the law and the judge on their side." Paveer also pointed out the multitude of female drug prisoners, attributing the coercion from poverty and widespread discrimination in society as factors driving women to drug trafficking, stating: "You all know what is happening in the prisons, but you have turned a blind eye to it; know that if you had given the nation's share of the country's wealth to its rightful owners, no one would have been forced to spend their life in prison." She concluded: "The end of the dark night is bright, and with the awareness of the people and the presence of a God who hears our voices, the oppressor and oppression will never reach their destination." Armita Paveer, 29, was first arrested on November 9, 2022, during nationwide protests and was released on December 8 on a bail of 250 million tomans. She has been sentenced to about two years of imprisonment for "insulting the leadership and propaganda against the Islamic Republic" by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Azarshahr. She has gone on hunger strikes multiple times in protest against this verdict and prison conditions. Pressure on students, especially female students, has intensified following the nationwide protests of "Women, Life, Freedom." Qasem Badi: Armita Paveer's life is in "real danger" following her dry hunger strike. Qasem Badi: The charges against Armita Paveer lack "legal validity." Exclusive: Armita Paveer on the seventeenth day of her hunger strike: I will not back down, even at the cost of death. Exclusive: Two weeks of dry hunger strike by Armita Paveer in Tabriz prison; Qasem Badi: Her life is in real danger. Hundreds of users on Instagram have called for the release of political prisoners in Iran.