Widespread Reactions to Faezah Hashemi's Letter from Evin Prison Criticizing Some Female Political Prisoners

Faezah Hashemi, a political activist imprisoned in Evin, has stirred controversy in the Persian-speaking social media with her letter accusing several female prisoners of "dictatorship" and "fascistic behaviors." The letter, which criticizes the behavior of some female political prisoners in Evin, has even been well-received by Iranian state media, to the extent that it was republished on the front page of the Mizan News Agency's website, the official organ of the judiciary, with the headline "Faezah Hashemi: We fighters are nothing but empty drums and petty dictators." In her letter, Hashemi particularly targeted leftist and monarchist prisoners, accusing some political prisoners of lying, exaggerating problems inside prison, and exhibiting dictatorial, fascistic behavior. The sensitivity around Hashemi's letter is heightened as it was published on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Jina Amini while in custody of the morality police in 2021, it critiques the women's section of Evin prison known as the "heart of civil struggles" in Iran, and her name is intertwined with her father's legacy, which includes the killing of several opponents and dissidents during his presidency. Some reformist supporters in Iran welcomed the letter, calling it an "important warning," while a larger number, including human rights figures and former prisoners, have reacted strongly to its blunt tone. Figures such as Ahmad Zeidabadi, a political activist recently summoned for discussing torture against detainees during the protests following the 2009 presidential election, and Sadegh Zibakalam, a recently released academic, have praised Hashemi's action as "brave" and even called for her return to the "embrace of the regime." Others, like Atash Shakeri, the aunt of Nika Shakeri, a teenager killed during the Mahsa protests, noted on Instagram that regardless of who the speaker is and the timing of such a text's publication, what she read serves as a revealing and alarming document. However, some human rights figures on social media mocked Hashemi, labeling her as the "daughter of the killer of Mykonos" and ridiculing her for becoming a narrator of "dictatorship within the women's ward" of Evin prison. The Mykonos assassination, which occurred at a restaurant of the same name in Berlin, Germany, in 1992, involved the killing of several Kurdish opposition leaders by agents of the Islamic Republic, leading to an arrest warrant for Ali Fallahian, the then-Minister of Intelligence, and several other officials. Aliyeh Matlabi, a photojournalist and women's rights activist with a history of imprisonment, attributed the tensions to the pressures of prison and security institutions, stating that "one cannot overlook the main causes and blame the other prisoners unilaterally." Matlabi also accused Hashemi of "deliberately switching the roles of jailer and prisoner" in the context of the letter's publication coinciding with the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. Others pointed out that Hashemi's accusation against some of her fellow inmates for preventing participation in the recent presidential elections, while emphasizing the priority of the fight against executions, targets the solidarity of prisoners in the struggle against the Islamic Republic and spreads "hatred" against imprisoned women activists. Some human rights activists noted that Hashemi's accusations of lying and exaggerating problems inside prison place her alongside her "repressive father" and on the "dark side of history," advising her not to "play for greater comfort in the realm of the Islamic Republic." Others argued that Hashemi's letter should not be seen as a personal lament but rather as a "political letter" and a continuation of the path of some "regretful reformists" distancing themselves from the overthrow movement, as evidenced in the recent fourteenth presidential election. Some have suggested that she seeks "privilege" in prison in the same way she has always benefited from being the daughter of Hashemi Rafsanjani, but in today’s Evin prison, new generations of women have crossed all boundaries and are unwilling to grant special privileges to anyone for familial or other reasons. Several others have responded more explicitly to Hashemi's criticisms, including Ladan Bazargan, from the families seeking justice from the 1980s, who wrote on X: "Faezah Hashemi's disgraceful letter from within prison once again proved that there is an ocean of blood between us and the 'government reformists.'" Bazargan accused Hashemi of "normalizing evil" and stated that instead of attacking a regime that has detained, tortured, and executed political and human rights activists for decades, she has attacked the "captives." Shokufe Azar Masuleh, another activist from the 1980s, reminded Hashemi that Reza Rasayi, a follower of the Yarsan faith accused of killing the head of the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence in the city of Sahneh, was recently executed, and three other activists are under death sentences. Faezah Hashemi, the daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and former head of the Expediency Council, has also served as a member of parliament, founder of the "Woman" newspaper, and former president of the Islamic Federation of Women’s Sports. She was arrested during the 2009 protests and the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests and is currently serving her sentence in Evin prison. In her lengthy letter, Hashemi refers to the "dictatorship" of some female prisoners, especially older and well-known prisoners, providing a list of those she calls "fascistic." The newsworthy sections of this letter are as follows: Evin prison, women's political ward, cohabitation with well-known fighters, good and bad memories, sweet and bitter, shared beliefs, and sometimes different practices. In lofty words and empty actions, theorists from within are hollow. Small dictators who bring what they have fought against for years upon their fellow inmates. Inmates (read: pressure groups inside the ward) monitor each other, dictate terms, set red lines, strip freedom, label and slander, threaten, discard votes, beat, and create an atmosphere of terror and oppression; why? Because they have not accompanied them or have criticized them, stepping on their dominance and authority, and strangely, the silence or companionship of some other prominent inmates with these minor oppressors. For me, who was also in prison in 2012, such conditions compared to this period trivialize the struggle. In that year, we did not have leftists or monarchists. It is said that some leftists form gangs whenever their numbers increase, collectively attack others, support each other's mistakes, and bring others to their knees. For some of these fighters, prison is a place where they gain and maintain character, credibility, and fame. Just being in prison is valuable to them, and they live in contradiction to their former ideals. They prevented some prisoners from voting in the recent presidential elections through noise, insults, and slogans. From eight in the morning until midnight on Friday, they sat in the corridor leading to the exit door of the ward, monitoring their fellow inmates like security agents and preventing passage. The atmosphere was so terrifying that even the guards did not dare to open the door for voters to pass, and these eight could not vote. They create news by spreading exaggerated and false information about individuals and events inside the prison. In their vocabulary, "no visitation" means turning a face-to-face meeting into a cabin meeting. Lack of access to a doctor means a prisoner being seen by a female doctor once every two weeks, undergoing multiple ultrasounds during pregnancy, having blood pressure and glucose checked several times a week, and having a nurse present in emergencies. Poor nutrition means having raw food supplies monthly, including dairy, legumes, and rice, and receiving prepared lunch and dinner daily at the prison's expense, with the possibility of daily purchases from the small prison shop and weekly shopping from outside at personal expense. Self-defense means attack. A bruised body means a red spot no larger than 2 by 2 centimeters.