Sepideh Rashno: The Power of the Powerless Stands Against Oppression

Sepideh Rashno, a writer and civil activist against compulsory hijab, wrote on Saturday, July 27, referring to the further postponement of her prison sentence: "They want to say that power is still in our hands, but it is the power of the powerless that is stuck in their throats, standing tall against such oppression." In her continued post published on her Instagram page, she added that the power of the powerless is a power that "can even postpone a sentence for a few days." She further stated: "My family and I are grateful for this power." Rashno, referring to the "three cases" formed against her and the "mountain on her family's shoulders," wrote: "I see no doubt in saying no to this great evil" and emphasized: "I believe I can endure these postponements, harassments, and even captivity, but I cannot bear to watch the loss of human lives." She concluded: "With this same power, let us demand the lives of those who are at risk of execution or have received death sentences." Meanwhile, Saman Rashno, the brother of this civil activist, announced the suspension of this sentence until August 4. Mr. Rashno wrote on his account on the social network "X": "The second appeal has been registered, and we hope that with the change of the charge title in the second case, the suspended sentence of the first case will not be executed." On Friday, July 26, on the eve of Sepideh Rashno's visit to the execution branch, several families of political prisoners and activists supported her, and the American PEN Association also called her imprisonment "unjust." The American PEN Association, in a statement from Sepideh Rashno, urged writers and supporters worldwide to share Sepideh's words on social media and protest against her "unjust" imprisonment and the detention of dozens of writers arrested by the Islamic Republic for "expressing opinions and statements." Sepideh Rashno, a civil activist sentenced to imprisonment, criticized her punishment for opposing compulsory hijab in a video message on Friday and urged "each individual" to "stand for their individuality and personal life." She emphasized: "I have not done anything to be considered a criminal, to be removed from the city and street, to be deprived of education, and even to be imprisoned. But the hands and feet of evil have so deeply penetrated our lives that our bodies, individuality, and lives are crimes." Ms. Rashno called for an end to this "evil" as soon as possible and pointed out that "in this evil, we are all criminals and are only recognized as criminals in turn." Sepideh Rashno's conviction to three years and seven months of imprisonment relates to her case in 2022. This deprived student was arrested in July 2022 after protesting against "compulsory hijab" and resisting the interference of a "morality enforcer" regarding her dress code on a bus, leading to her imprisonment. The Press Freedom Index in 2023 indicates that the Islamic Republic remains the second-largest prison for writers in the world, following China.