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Message From a Prisoner: Our State is the Foreign State

June 17, 2021
IranWire
3 min read
Message From a Prisoner: Our State is the Foreign State

Reza Mohammad Hosseini, a political prisoner currently being held in Rajaei Shahr prison, has sent IranWire a dispatch on his thoughts about tomorrow's so-called presidential election.

Hosseini was arrested by security forces for his peaceful activism in May 2019 and later convicted by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran of a litany of supposed offences, including "gathering and collusion", "insulting the leadership", "illegal crossing of the border", "unauthorized entry into the country" and "disobeying the orders of officers". He was sentenced to a total of 16 and a half years in prison, later reduced to seven.

The full transcript of the audio recording received by IranWire is as follows:

“Democracy, or the process of transition to democracy, is not restricted to elections. Democracy means that all people have the right to participate and contribute to the betterment of their lives.

“Now, the fundamental question is: What effect can elections have on democracy, and even the transition to democracy? Are the views and opinions of the people encapsulated in the presentation of views and opinions in the elections?

“If we go back to the definition of democracy, we come to the conclusion that the rights and capabilities of the people are far greater than this. Although healthy elections are a very important tool in the transition to democracy, and its preservation and development, societal awareness, dynamism, and activism are constructive and complementary factors. They should be ongoing from the moment of the start of transition to democracy, and after reaching it.

“Determining one's destiny is more than a right for human beings; it is within their capacity, and is their duty. There’s no need to play with foreign cards to determine one’s fate; a foreign state is one that does not stem from the people, and is not for the people.

“Obviously, the dramatized farce of elections by such a state has no consequence other than demagoguery. Participating in this farce will never be determining one's own destiny. The foreign state only gives us the opportunity to choose from a few limited, selective options, all of which have the function of carrying out the orders of the hidden state, and abide by the orders of the head of the ruling powers. We are not even the real selectors of this government; we have repeatedly observed fraud, and the looting of people's votes.

“The head of the ruling powers, the office of the Leader and the Revolutionary Guards, cannot survive in any form other than that of a religious government.

“So why should the people, who both constitute and maintain the sovereignty of one common goal, which is to protect their own interests, not attain this goal? In this situation, whereby people are deprived of even their most basic rights, we have no choice but to seek a solution that is absolutely not acceptable to the government.

“We should not take part in this unequal battle, but force them to play on our own ground, by forming a dynamic and demanding civil society. Instances of tyranny, discrimination, repression, and violation of human rights and individual and social freedoms are not exceptions but are completely systemic.

“Based on what we have experienced in the past four decades, reform cannot come about merely through a change of individual [leader] or government, because true reform means overthrowing the rule of oppression and ignorance.

“No healthy person can have a place in a completely corrupt system. That is to say, if the government of the so-called Islamic Republic respects human rights, justice, equality and freedom, it will no longer be an Islamic government. Therefore, it cannot permit any reform. In the end, any vote given to this system only adds to its lifespan.

“Reza Mohammad Hosseini, June 16, 2021, Rajaei Shahr Prison.”

Related coverage:

Political Prisoners Boycotting the Presidential Election

"I’ll be in a Coma Soon”: A Message to Presidential Hopeful Raeesi from a Prisoner on Hunger Strike

Why is Khamenei Still Calling on People to Vote?

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