Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb's Protest Against the 'Militarization' of Iran and the Government's 'War Declaration' Against Women: We Will Not Remain Silent

Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, a political prisoner in Qazalhessar, condemned the Islamic Republic's 'war declaration' against women in Iran and 'warmongering' in the region in a message released to VOA on Thursday, April 25. He emphasized that the government's efforts to 'militarize' the country, use 'repression tools', and send a 'message of silence to society' are ineffective. In this audio message, he stated that 'our entire being is filled with cries against the tyranny and dictatorship of the clerics, the Revolutionary Guards, security forces, and the unjust courts of the revolution.' He criticized the Islamic Republic's 'war declaration' against Iranian women through what he called the 'light and force' plan, as well as 'rocket launching, warmongering, and support for terrorism' in the Middle East. This human rights activist imprisoned in Qazalhessar continued by stating that 'the censorship and surveillance apparatus continues to control and cut our phones,' adding that he reads this message 'quickly.' He remarked that with 'rocket launching, firecrackers, warmongering, and support for terrorism that the officials and clerics have engaged in to further militarize the country and plunder national wealth, as well as the war declaration against the women of this country under the guise of the light and force plan, they are making the country security-oriented and militarized.' By pressuring claimants, political and civil activists, political prisoners, and their families, they want to 'send another message of silence to society with this repression tool.' Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb referred to the key points of the '14th Statement' published in June 2019 for the ousting of Khamenei and the transition from the Islamic Republic by 14 civil and political activists inside Iran, emphasizing that 'we will not remain silent, and we will not submit to the humiliation of the tyranny and oppression,' as Iranians have the 'right to life, freedom, and choice' alongside 'respect for human rights, human dignity, citizenship rights, and freedom.' This civil activist stressed that 'this land needs freedom and peace,' describing Iran as 'a country rich in resources, with an ancient history, enduring culture, and free people,' and called for 'unity and solidarity' of the people 'against injustice and oppression.' He also stated: 'We have the right, like all progressive peoples of the world, to benefit from knowledge, justice, freedom, and life.' Since April 14, the Islamic Republic has deployed its police and plainclothes forces in the streets of various cities in Iran in a new wave of repression of women's optional dress under the title 'light plan,' but despite widespread arrests, civil resistance continues against it. In response to the increasing pressures on women in Iran by the government, Robert Gilchrist, a senior official in the Office of 'Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor' at the U.S. State Department, expressed concern on Monday about the worsening human rights record of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing that the human rights situation, especially women's rights in Iran, has become 'worse.'