Reza Mohammad Hosseini Reveals IRGC Pressure on Political Prisoners for 'Repentance': I Will Become More Determined

Reza Mohammad Hosseini, a political prisoner held in Qezel Hessar, reveals in an audio file that the Islamic Republic authorities are exerting economic pressure on political prisoners to force their 'repentance.' In this audio file, which was sent to Voice of America on Wednesday, June 9, he emphasizes that IRGC officials have prevented him from granting a power of attorney for the inheritance of his late father, which has hindered his ability to cover his expenses in prison. He stresses that throughout the years he has been active politically both inside and outside prison, he has endured all kinds of harassment from government agents, and this time the IRGC's intelligence officials have not allowed him to send the power of attorney to his family. This constitutionalist political prisoner asserts, 'The grief that the IRGC's loyalists caused me by taking my father from me was not the end of the story, and their wicked behavior continued towards me despite my six years and three months prison sentence.' He describes the violent circumstances of his arrest, which led to his father's heart attack and subsequent death shortly after Reza's detention, explaining that he intended to send a power of attorney for the inheritance and sale of his father's remaining assets to his family, but IRGC agents prevented this and do not allow him to send the power of attorney to his family. Reza Mohammad Hosseini also mentions that during his previous imprisonment, he survived 'the days of captivity' with 'a small amount of financial help sent by his father,' and now the IRGC officials are trying to prevent him from covering his prison expenses with the intent of 'forcing repentance.' He states in the audio file: 'The prison supervisor explicitly said that the IRGC opposed granting your power of attorney, meaning that the IRGC and its agents not only took my father from me but have also deprived me of my paternal inheritance so that they think I will give in to financial pressure and abandon my rightful positions.' According to this political prisoner, 'This process of forcing repentance has been ongoing with pressure on his brother and repeated summons and interrogations of him,' and his brother was 'pressured' to write that Reza Mohammad Hosseini 'had mental health issues and needed to be hospitalized,' which 'these pressures did not succeed despite the prison doctor's confirmation of Reza's mental health.' At the end of this audio file, which he claims was sent from 'the prison of slaughter and execution, Qezel Hessar,' he addresses 'Ismail Shafiei, the IRGC interrogator' in his case and those of other political prisoners, stating that 'you and your superiors consider Iran as your paternal inheritance' and 'depriving me of my paternal inheritance by you is not surprising.' This constitutionalist political prisoner emphasizes that the increase in these pressures aimed at forcing repentance will, on the contrary, make him more determined in his goal, stating: 'One day, with empty hands, hand in hand with the people, we will take back Iran.' Previously, Pouran Nazemi, a human rights activist, told Voice of America that the pressure from intelligence agencies imposed by the Islamic Republic on activists 'is more than in all these years,' and one of the government's actions is to 'cut off the economic lifelines of all these activists.'