Reactions For and Against the Release of Faezah Hashemi from Evin After Criticism of Some Female Political Prisoners

Simultaneously with the publication of Golrokh Iraei's response to Faezah Hashemi's critical letter about some political prisoners, the release of this political activist and former parliament member from Evin prison has created a new wave in the Persian-speaking virtual space. Ms. Hashemi's lawyer announced her conditional release less than a week after she wrote a letter from Evin prison accusing several female prisoners of 'dictatorship' and 'fascist behaviors.' Mohammad Hossein Aghasi stated on Wednesday, September 28, that the appellate court's ruling approving her conditional release was communicated to him at a time when 'previously' her conditional release had been opposed. Some users have written that the approval of Faezah Hashemi's release, for whatever reason, is 'blessed' and that the release of all political prisoners should be welcomed, also calling for the release of other political prisoners, including Tomaj Salehi, a imprisoned protest rapper. Several figures close to reformists and the government of Masoud Pezeshkian have also welcomed Faezah Hashemi's release, praising her positions in criticizing those labeled as 'opponents of the Islamic Republic,' expressing hope that, considering the government's inclination towards achieving 'national reconciliation,' she may even have the opportunity to return to university and teach. Mohammad Sahafi, a media and advertising manager in the Ministry of Culture during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, praised the release of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's daughter, the former head of the Expediency Council, for her 'resistance, courage, and clarity.' However, a larger number of social media users, some of whom are from families of victims or have family members in prison, as well as some political activists and journalists, have referred to Faezah Hashemi's letter as a 'repentance letter' and stated that her release after the publication of her letter is significant and should not be viewed naively. Some users have also labeled Hashemi as a 'child of the system' who was released from prison due to 'collaboration' with the Iranian government's security project to eliminate opponents of the Islamic Republic in exchange for allowing some reformists to remain in power. Maryam Kalaran, the daughter of Nahid Taghavi, a dual-national prisoner currently in Iran, reacted to the news of Ms. Hashemi's release by writing: 'The repentance letter has been accepted.' Mohammad Aghazadeh, a veteran journalist, also wrote: 'I suggest to Ms. Hashemi not to trust her cousin's dream interpretations anymore, as her dream interpretation turned out to be the opposite, and instead of being killed by her cellmates, she was fortunately released.' His reference is to the end of Hashemi's letter, in which she mentioned life-threatening risks for herself in prison and wrote: 'My cousin, who seriously believes in her dream interpretations, recently dreamed that I would be killed in prison by my cellmates. Just a heads up, you know.' Mehrdokht Hadi, from the families of the victims of the Ukrainian flight shot down by the Revolutionary Guards, sarcastically wrote in response to Faezah's release using the hashtag 'repentance letter': 'At least we can rest assured about the safety of one of the tens of thousands of political prisoners.' Bahman Darolshafaee, a journalist and translator who himself and several family members have a history of imprisonment, described the news of Faezah Hashemi's release after the publication of the critical letter as 'very obvious.' However, some users have also written that the Iranian government, with the early release of Hashemi following the mentioned critical letter, pursued another one of its goals of neutralizing her, a topic that political activists supporting the theory of cooperation with the government should pay attention to. Among them, Amir Hossein Moslehi, a journalist, wrote about Faezah's release: 'The government's likely goal in Faezah Hashemi's conditional release after her critical letter about the conditions of prisoners is to discredit a recognized activist against the dictatorship among the people.' Faezah Hashemi was released from Evin prison 'conditionally.' Some users have also written that the release of this political activist shortly after the publication of Golrokh Iraei's letter has doubled the importance of Ms. Iraei's letter. The news of Faezah Hashemi's release came shortly after the publication of another political prisoner Golrokh Iraei's critical letter against her, which led some users who reacted to Hashemi's release to also share Iraei's letter on their social media accounts. Faezah Hashemi, the imprisoned political activist, in her letter accused several female prisoners of 'dictatorship' and 'fascist behaviors,' especially targeting leftist and monarchist prisoners, and accused some political prisoners of lying, exaggerating problems inside the prison, and behaving in a dictatorial, fascist manner, a letter that was welcomed by some parts of the Iranian government and figures close to it. Despite widespread critical reactions to this political activist's letter, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights activist whose prison sentence is currently postponed for medical reasons, wrote in a letter that when she was spending her days in Evin women's ward with Faezah Hashemi, she witnessed that she not only did not use 'any privilege' but also did not cease her 'resistance and civil disobedience' in prison. Sotoudeh confirmed the content of Faezah Hashemi's letter, calling her critical text 'effective' and wrote that Hashemi 'has now criticized the atmosphere of the women's ward in Evin prison. Some opportunists may misuse her criticism. But this letter can be our self-criticism, and that is the function of freedom of expression.' A few days later, however, Golrokh Iraei, in a lengthy letter, likened Hashemi's letter to a 'repentance letter' and wrote that 'despite the ideological and class contradictions' in Evin women's ward, Hashemi was always treated with 'tolerance.' In various parts of the letter, Iraei repeatedly described Faezah with terms such as 'ambitious, with an authoritative view and from a position of power,' coming from 'the aristocracy and power,' and 'an aristocrat whose all possessions, even her academic title and political life, are privileges and heritage from her father.' Golrokh Iraei, who introduced herself as one of the leftist prisoners targeted by Faezah Hashemi's criticism, also accused Hashemi of 'blackening' and at the same time 'whitewashing' the prison organization and the judiciary in favor of the government due to her critical correspondence against some female political prisoners. She wrote: 'We and our sick cellmates have been exposed in the repentance letter of someone who uses every privilege available in prison and lives in discriminatory conditions with us, but we have always tolerated her despite our ideological and class contradictions.' In a part of Iraei's letter that has particularly attracted the attention of social media users and has been shared, it is stated: 'At 9 AM on December 17, 2022, the announcement of Mohsen Shekari's hanging was made on the Islamic Republic's news network. The voice of Faezah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the revealing cellmate, is not forgotten, who after the news said: 'Well, these are not protesters. They are dangerous. If they don't kill them, what will they do with them...' Mohsen Shekari was one of the detainees of the protests following the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini in the custody of the morality police in September 2022, who was executed by the government. This part of Iraei's letter has attracted more attention on social media because Faezah Hashemi criticized the focus on opposing executions in the women's ward of Evin prison in her letter. Ms. Iraei concluded her letter about Faezah Hashemi by stating: 'An aristocrat without principles and political activity principles, representing the class and thought on which the Islamic Republic is founded, with the desire to return to 'power,' stands against the regime's opponents and blackens the women prisoners of Evin prison, who had previously risen to destroy it but failed.'