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Weekly Censorship Report: Faezeh Hashemi Attacked for Expressing an Opinion

January 12, 2021
Niloufar Rostami
9 min read
Faezeh Hashemi has faced constant criticism for her controversial views. Most recently, she said if Donald Trump had won a second term it could have forced Iran to change its policies
Faezeh Hashemi has faced constant criticism for her controversial views. Most recently, she said if Donald Trump had won a second term it could have forced Iran to change its policies
Faezeh Hashemi’s brother Mohsen had harsh criticism for his sister, who he said had expressed “extreme” views and should apologize
Faezeh Hashemi’s brother Mohsen had harsh criticism for his sister, who he said had expressed “extreme” views and should apologize

Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani has attracted intense criticism for her comments about Donald Trump, stating that “she wished he had won a second term”. If he had stayed in power, she indicated, Trump's extreme approach could have forced the Islamic Republic to adopt policies that would better serve the Iranian people and urged it to overhaul what she described as a “catastrophic” stance on international relations. US Democrats, she said, could not achieve this, given their more flexible approach to dealing with Iran. "Iran's efforts to reform have led to greater repression,” she added.

The activist, former parliamentarian, and daughter of one of the chief architects of the Islamic Republic, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, made the comments during a live interview with the reformist-leaning Ensaf News website on January 9 to mark the fourth anniversary of her father's death. "I would have liked Mr. Trump to be elected because of Iran; but if I were an American, I would not vote for Mr. Trump," she told the site.

Her comments not only sparked criticism from the public; her brother Mohsen Hashemi, who chairs Tehran City Council, said she had “insulted” their father and risked damaging his reputation with her “extreme” comments. ”I sincerely ask you to correct your words and apologize for this position, and to prevent the foreign revisionists and domestic extremists from destroying the image of Father,” his letter to her said. "Trump had intended to launch a war against Iran. "How do you hold hopes for a foreign head of state and yet claim independence?

"The publication of the interview has upset supporters of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and, of course, his family members," Mohsen Hashemi said. A day later, on January 10, Faezeh Hashemi responded during an interview with Khabar Online: ”Mohsen is the most conservative among us, or, in his own words, he is the wiser one. He really wants to control us.” The response indicated a division in the family that perhaps hasn’t always been evident.

"She said she would have liked Mr. Trump to win," Mohsen Hashemi told Fars News Agency."It is worth noting that the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be overthrown by sanctions and such things,” appearing to say that Trump’s harsh measures against Iran have had no political impact, and would not have had any if Trump had secured a second term.

On the same day, their uncle, Mohammad Hashemi, gave further evidence of this division: "Our family does not approve of Faezeh's position,” he said.

Elsewhere in her interview, Hashemi referred to protests in Iran in recent years."All those who took to the streets, did any of them say, 'Death to America?' They did not. In any case, Iran’s lack of relationship with the United States and our wrong policies at the international level and in the region are catastrophic.” She urged the Iranian people to take a broader look at Iran-US relations, and Iranian policy in general.

Her comments were also posted on Instagram, again sparking criticism and shock, and in some cases threats.

"Freedom of expression is not a crime," said Reza Moini, head of Reporters Without Borders' Iran desk, when asked about Hashemi’s comments. "Freedom of speech is not a war of factions and a war between brothers and sisters wanting power. Freedom of expression is for everyone and must be defended — even for parts of society that are the enemy of freedom of information.” He pointed out that, particularly in Iranian society, the notion that freedom of expression was for everyone had been called into question. “Defending freedom of expression means defending it for everyone always."

Moini considered the Islamic Republic’s long historical battle with free speech: "Among the factional war in the Islamic Republic and from the very first day, the first victim was freedom of expression. The failure of defenders of freedom of speech to defend the freedom of those who disagree with them and those whom society says is wrong has been a major flaw and weakness of the freedom of expression movement. Ms. Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani has the right to be free and to speak. But not everyone in Iran has this right. Imprisoned journalists have never had this right. The lawyers of these journalists have never had this right."

On January 11, the hardline conservative newspaper Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the Supreme Leader, described Faezeh Hashemi as a "real beneficiary of sanctions” and accused her of “boldness and impudence”. It also recognized the privilege she has enjoyed as a member of one of Iran’s most influential families. "[She] would be nothing if it were not for her late father. If she was not the daughter of the late Hashemi, how would she be able to use such bold language and rudeness?”

Mashregh News also referred to Faezeh Hashemi as "rebellious" and having a long history of scandalous behavior.

The Kayhan article also referred to the 2012 broadcast of a recording of Mehdi Hashemi, another of Rafsanjani’s sons, speaking to Nikahang Kowsar, a cartoonist living in the United States. It said the recording was evidence that Mehdi Hashemi had helped plot to “overthrow” the regime and had defected, accusing him of being a “seditionist”. Mehdi Hashemi was detained in September 2012 and charged with a long list of corruption charges. Faezeh Hashemi was also jailed briefly and handed down a five-year ban on political, cultural, and journalistic activities in 2011 after she was accused of "carrying out propaganda activities against the regime," according to multiple media sites.  Both Mehdi and Faezeh Rafsanjani were accused of leading the protests that followed the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

A Lone Voice of Support

Following the latest scandal, in Iran only Parvaneh Salhshouri, a former member of parliament, defended her right to free speech. Salahshouri wrote a lengthy defense of Hashemi, saying she was free to voice her opinion, as a political and human rights activist, and as a citizen.

"First, we have to admit that it was not just Faezeh Hashemi who said this: in other people's conversations or online, others have similar views and say, if Trump had won, even if we died from war and sanctions, it would be better than dying gradually with coronavirus disease and living in poverty and misery.”

Salahshouri also said that the vitriol being leveled at Hashemi was partially due to Iran’s culture of harsh gender discrimination. "Now there is also the question: Why has Faezeh Hashemi's interview has received such strong reactions and met with a flood of criticism? Like any politician, she has the right to comment. So why do some ‘reformists’ treat her so aggressively? Why did Mohsen Hashemi write an open letter? In a society where sexism prevails there is no way of getting rid of gender discrimination, and the response to Faezeh's remarks is part of the same sexist view.

"Every word can be criticized, but fair criticism is totally different from brutal attacks. It is a bitter reality that today, reformist women are being attacked more brutally than anyone else," she said.

"I have heard remarks like Ms. Hashemi's from many of my compatriots before," said lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, speaking to Journalism is Not A Crime, IranWire’s affiliate site.  "This is not just about her words. The behavior of the Islamic Republic is such that it draws people in this direction. So those who blame Ms. Hashemi for saying this should blame the Islamic Republic. It is the cause of such remarks.”

Ebadi also said if Iran’s judiciary was based on robust law, Hashemi could file defamation charges. ”Ms. Hashemi has spoken freely but has faced insults. If we had an independent judiciary, she could sue for these insults and those who had said it could have been prosecuted. I hope one day we will finally have an independent judiciary to prevent such unnecessary attacks."

Controversial Comments About Iranian Intervention in Syria

It was not just Faezeh Hashemi 's comments about Trump that elicited criticism: what she had to say about Iran’s involvement in Syria also angered people. When asked about Ghasem Soleimani, the assassinated commander of Quds force, the branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for Iran’s operations abroad, Hashemi said Iran's presence in Syria had not achieved anything for Iran. "Iran's intervention in Syria has left 500,000 people dead.” She added that Iran’s policy in the region had "led us to lose our friends ... while our foreign policy has become similar to domestic politics, with supporters turning into critics and critics turning into oppositionists.”

Hashemi also claimed her father had been against Iran getting involved in the Syrian war and its politics. "Soleimani consulted my father before he went to Syria, and father told him not to go.”

Soleimani not only led the Islamic Republic’s proxy wars in Syria, but also in Lebanon, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.

"If it were not for Hajj Ghasem, Faezeh would have been an ISIS slave!”tweeted Hassan Shojaei, a member of parliament, in response to the comments.

The recent attacks on Hashemi is the latest example of a long history of Iranian authorities’ crackdown on its citizens’ right to free expression, but also the rights of Iran’s politicians, journalists, academics and critical thinkers.

Government officials including former member of parliament Mahmoud Sadeghi, former vice president for women and family affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi, Issa Kalantari, Hassan Rouhani's deputy, and the head of the Department of Environment, and many others have faced threats and insults and, in some cases, been summoned to court and sentenced to prison simply for expressing an opinion, whether in an interview, in their speeches or articles, or on social media.

Parvaneh Salahshouri did not necessarily express support for Hashemi’s comments about Trump, but she did defend her right to say it. And she did agree with Hashemi when she said that Iranian society and the government need to change: "Alarm bells have been sounding for us for a long time. The migration of 3,000 doctors in 10 months means that we have not taken the warnings seriously and today their voices are much louder than before. Therefore, we need change, and its starting point is to confront our helplessness. Let us not forget that the land of Iran and its people need truth and righteousness in order to survive. So, before we get crushed like Gregor in Kafka's The Metamorphosis, let's find ourselves, let's start with ourselves and regain our positive qualities."

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and head of the presidential office during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) and who was himself detained following the 2009 Iranian election, tweeted: ”Ms. Faezeh Hashemi, I hope you did not wish for Trump to stay so he could put more pressure on Iran. Believe me, the living conditions of most people are not like the Hashemi family. They suffer from sanctions and pressure. No nation can be proud by depending on foreigners.”

This article includes additional reporting from Ahmad Salloum, who writes for IranWire Arabic

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