Note; The Accusation of Addiction Against Protesters and Critics in the Islamic Republic's Propaganda Apparatus

First, let me state a general principle: A healthy, powerful, and ethical society is not one where only the holders of power, wealth, and status have rights; it is a society where the most vulnerable and weakest segments, such as addicts, sex workers, the homeless, the physically and mentally disabled, and orphaned children, also enjoy equal rights and can have a voice in society. The Islamic Republic seeks to deprive individuals, even those not in vulnerable groups, of their rights with such accusations (which are not actually accusations but labels). Unethical labels were crafted in the 60s and 70s to discredit opponents and those who were out of line in the eyes of the public, with sexual and addiction accusations fabricated, and after the arrest of any writer or political activist, alcohol and opium would be 'found' in their homes. In the 80s, the same topics were revisited in different forms such as infidelity or free sexual relations and 'addiction' to marijuana and heroin became the focus of security agencies. However, in the 90s, with the rise of addiction and mental disorders, security officials began using the same types of accusations but with new titles like crystal meth or crack or pills, which they believe appear more credible. This new version also makes it easier to justify the killing of a prisoner by interrogators, as they can attribute the death to overdose or suicide under conditions of lack of access to substances. First, I will mention a few recent examples. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, regarding women and girls who have removed their hijabs in public says: 'Some of them have become emotional and have done this due to childish issues. Some also commit such acts under the influence of industrial drugs, and some are organized or organize themselves to do these things.' Women and girls who have removed their hijabs have also been accused of promoting corruption and indecency and attempting to find husbands, while clerics have always encouraged marriage. Mohammad Javad Montazeri, the Attorney General, regarding the suicide of Sina Ghanbari during detention in Evin prison said: 'The person who committed suicide was an addict, and there is a video of it.' The spokesperson for the judiciary regarding the death of one of the detainees in the protests in Arak said: 'A person committed suicide in the Arak police station. He was an addict who had drugs with him and had a criminal record.' After a visit by some members of parliament to Evin, Allahyar Malekshahi, the head of the parliamentary judiciary committee, said: 'Regarding the person who was arrested during the protests and it was said that he committed suicide, both the relevant video was seen and the place where his body was found and presumably where he committed suicide was visited.' The accusation of addiction or other moral and pathological accusations against protesters and dissenters has four functions for the government and its security and propaganda machines: Justification for elimination. Violating rights and killing and normalizing their deaths in situations where they are killed in detention or during attacks by interrogators and prison guards or in the street by the Basij and plainclothes agents. Given that most people in Iran do not mourn the deaths of addicts, this type of introduction keeps the government safe from public outrage; Character assassination. Individuals participating in protests or trying to overcome barriers for themselves and others are disregarded or at least doubted by others due to such labels, and they do not receive the respect they should from the public; according to the authorities of the Islamic Republic, protesters against the regime or dissenters must all have moral problems, otherwise why would they oppose those who see themselves as symbols of 'light and absolute purity'; Changing the accusation and projection. The accusation of addiction is one that, from the perspective of coercive powers, diverts public attention from other accusations (opposition to despotism or corruption and discrimination), accusations that are completely baseless from a public perspective. This also distorts the legal process and diverts minds from the main issue, which is the accusation of dictatorship and corruption against the government. The accuser believes that by accusing, all attention is diverted from their wrongdoing and focused on the accuser. These accusations are a form of projection. And sitting in the position of a social worker, social pathologist, psychiatrist, and moral teacher while the accusers are interrogators and torturers and parts of the repression machine. Beyond the intentions and motives of the authorities in raising addiction and other personal issues among the accusations (which aim to evade the law) or the functions of these baseless accusations, among the protesters as a sample of the population, there are all kinds of individuals with all kinds of backgrounds and conditions. For this reason, to avoid such accusations, opponents of the government refrain from creating heroes or martyrs so that their heroes do not fall due to an accusation. All people, including brave protesters, are ordinary individuals. However, what gives balance and equilibrium to this situation is mentioning the troubles of the officials, their family members, and the 'martyrs of the regime' with the same kinds of problems. Among the officials and their children and the saints of the regime, there are also addicted individuals. In a country with about 4 million addicts and 3 million recreational drug users and about 1 million alcoholics, one can observe some of them in any gathering of several hundred, whether in rallies in favor of or protests against the regime. I know people who were killed in the Iran-Iraq war but, by their own admission, slept with sex workers, cheated on their wives, and even committed theft (the author of this piece has served three terms in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and has been acquainted and conversed with hundreds of Basij members during that time). In contrast, I know individuals who do not believe in any of the frameworks and foundations of Islam and the revolution but do not commit immoral acts or crimes. On one of the nights I was guarding a position in the Talayeh area (in 1982), a Basij pulled the pin from his grenade and killed both himself and a university student, and the Basij declared both martyrs while the young Basij had committed a criminal act. The government wants to present everything on its side as 'sacred' and 'pure' and everything on the opposite side as 'satanic' and 'ugly.' The world is not set up this way. No group or faction has a monopoly on ugliness and filth, and all goodness is not concentrated in a specific group. The main and important story here is the rights of people, both for those we love and for those we do not like. Civil and human rights are not limited to beloved and wise individuals. Let us assume some of the protesters and hijab removers and many others are addicts or have a thousand other problems. Do they not have rights? An addict also has the right to protest against corruption, waste, discrimination, and repression, and if arrested, they should not be 'killed' or sex workers should not be subjected to humiliation and violation of their rights, and if arrested, they should not be assaulted by police or Basij forces. Addicted women also have the right to choose their attire. The scenes of covering prisoners with a chador in Iranian prisons (regardless of the crime they have committed) or taking them (and soldiers) to pray in the chapel are among the most disgusting scenes in a social system because the jailer or the camp officials impose their beliefs on the powerless individual based on their power. The right to protest is not exclusive to specific groups in society. Individuals with mental disorders or criminal records also have the right, like all members of society, to protest against the authoritarian and totalitarian conditions in society.