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Prisoners

"I Will Set Myself on Fire if My Son is Not Released"

February 25, 2022
Roghiyeh Rezaei
8 min read
Hossein Ronaghi's father Ahmad Ronaghi says he will set himself on fire in Tehran's Arg Square if authorities do not release his son
Hossein Ronaghi's father Ahmad Ronaghi says he will set himself on fire in Tehran's Arg Square if authorities do not release his son
Hossein Ronaghi was first arrested when he was 25 years old. He later lost one of his kidneys due to torture and lack of medical care
Hossein Ronaghi was first arrested when he was 25 years old. He later lost one of his kidneys due to torture and lack of medical care
Freedom of expression activist Hossein has been missing since February 23
Freedom of expression activist Hossein has been missing since February 23

Blogger and civil society activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki left his home on Wednesday, February 23 at around 11am, but never returned. The same day, he sent his brother a voice message, urging him to go public if something happened to him

There has been no news of Hossein Ronaghi since then. His family says Ronaghi received calls from an unknown number — likely from the Islamic Republic's security services — a few days before his disappearance.

IranWire spoke to Hossein's father, Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki. He insisted Hossein had been abducted by Islamic Republic security agents and that the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was responsible for his son's life. He added that if Hossein was not released, he would set himself on fire.

***

Hossein Ronaghi: A Life in Activism

Hossein Ronaghi is civil society activist, blogger, and former political prisoner campaigning for freedom of expression. He has opposed the highly controversial "User Protection Bill", which aims to cut Iranians off from the internet and was approved by a parliamentary group after a rushed-through session on February 22 as international news was focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was subsequently withdrawn as protests against the repressive legislation escalated.

As part of his activism to support free expression and online freedom, Ronaghi was one of several whistleblowers calling out the activities of the private company Abravaran and its managers. He repeatedly reported about the double standards of the company's managers and senior employees, whose appearance and lifestyle are contrary to the values ​​promoted by the Islamic Republic, but who help the Iranian government in restricting the Internet.

Hossein Ronaghi was first arrested together with his brother Hassan Ronaghi at their father's house in Malekan in East Azerbaijan Province in December 2009 during the popular protests known as the Green Movement. To put pressure on Hossein Ronaghi, agents tortured his brother in front of him. The torture was so extreme that Hossein's brother is still unable to walk.

"Hassan was tortured to such an extent that he had a lumbar disc herniation,” their father told IranWire. “The vertebrae in his neck were damaged when his head was driven into a wall; he is still unable to stand or walk. Hassan was beaten so that Hossein would confess to what they wanted. Hossein, who saw that Hassan was being killed, said that he would accept whatever they wanted."

In March 2010, Kayhan newspaper, which has close ties to the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards, published serious allegations against Ronaghi, leading to more intense and increased pressure on him and his family. Ronaghi went on a hunger strike twice to protest the harassment of his family by security agents, which included summoning his mother for questioning.

In 2011, Ronaghi suffered from kidney failure while serving a 15-year prison sentence. Prison officials denied him access to medical care, leading to him eventually losing a kidney.

"They sentenced him to 15 years in prison. The judge in his case was Pir Abbasi, but he was not actually present at the sentencing," his father said. "The person in charge was actually the head of Pir Abbasi's office — he was called Sattari. Security forces also played a role."

Ronaghi was finally released from prison in May 2016 following a 40-day hunger strike, though this was technically a temporary release.

The Recent Abduction

"He was taken away — it was abduction, not arrest,”  Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki told IranWire. “This detention is against the law. Because if Hossein had committed a crime, they should have sent him a notification and summoned him to court.

"We found out he had been taken away when he did not answer his phone when we called. After his arrest, they took his keys and ransacked his house. They stole his belongings and took it all with them."

He said his son was still posting videos and commentary right up until his abduction. "I ask the Leader of the Islamic Republic personally and he must answer without delay. He is the commander-in-chief and responsible. The responsibility for my son's life, if the slightest thing happens to him, lies with him. Revolutionary Guards commanders are also responsible. The Ministry of Intelligence is also responsible for the abduction, which took place in broad daylight. Together, they must all be held accountable.

"If they do not answer me, I will set myself on fire in Arg Square in Tehran. I will prove to the whole world that the people in Iran are at risk, the law is not enforced, and there is no social justice."

Ahmad Ronaghi also called on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to hold the Islamic Republic accountable for his son's life. "I hold the United Nations responsible too, and if they do not respond, I will set myself on fire."

From the Iran Proxy Network to the Users’ Protection Bill

In 2009, Islamic Republic security forces, and in particular the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Agency, accused Hossein Ronaghi of running the Iran Proxy Network, which provided citizens with safe anti-filtering software in the late 2000s. They accused him of taking money from ‘hostile' countries and tried to force him to confess by pressuring, torturing and arresting him and by arresting and summoning his mother and other members of his family.

The official charges against him were "membership to the Iran Proxy Network with the aim of disrupting the country's security, insulting the leadership, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, and spreading lies with the intention of disturbing the public mind." The 15-year prison sentence followed. For the next seven years, Ronaghi was in and out of jail due to his poor physical health. Eventually came his release in 2016.

But Hossein Ronaghi refused to remain silent. He kept defending citizens' rights, often writing on his blog about the need to protect free, unfiltered and uncensored Internet access. In one of the latest videos he published, Hossein Ronaghi is seen sitting next to his mother. “People ask us: why are we not afraid? Why don't they catch us? We are not part of the network of corruption and so have no reason to be afraid. Together we must put aside fear and fight for our rights. There is no room for fear anymore because the future that will take shape under these conditions will be dark."

In a recent tweet posted before his disappearance, Ronaghi stressed that the government and politicians, whether reformist or hardline principlist, had no power over people's freedom to access to the internet or to what censorship they faced. People's rights were denied by the entire system holding up the Islamic Republic and its leader, who opposes freedom of expression and violates the right of citizens to access the free flow of information, he said. 

He also recently gave an interview with the German newspaper Bild about the vast and extended propaganda machine of the Islamic Republic, including work by pro-regime activists to whitewash the Islamic Republic's repression on Western media platforms.

In October 2021, Ronaghi published an article in English in The Wall Street Journal arguing that people in the West were unaware of the depth of the repression and persecution of Iranian citizens and protesters, and that the Western media often failed to tell the truth about the country’s political system.

Now, during the very week that the crackdown was due to ramp up significantly with the approval of the Users’ Internet Protection Bill and its plans to restrict 85 million Iranians' access to the internet, Hossein Ronaghi, a prominent activist for internet freedom, has left his home in Tehran and not returned.

Fears for Ronaghi's Life

Considering the torture and physical assault his son has faced, Ahmad Ronaghi says there is good reason to fear for his son’s life. He has already lost a kidney and his father remembers all too well what he went through.

"My son was abused a lot," he said. "He was held in solitary confinement for 13 months. Once when I went to visit him, I noticed Hossein's face was swollen. No matter how much I asked him to let us take him to the specialist doctor, they did not let us have medical treatment and they did not do anything themselves. Finally, after we paid a 1.5 billion tomans bail, they allowed us to take him for treatment.

"Several doctors testified that Hossein could not bear imprisonment, but they would not accept it. Officials returned my son to prison seven times after surgery without any medical care. Eventually, he lost one of his kidneys due to a severe infection."

Over the last few months, Ronaghi’s father said, Hossein had been harassed and assaulted. "Hossein has been arrested and beaten up several times on the way to and from work.” He also said that he himself had been targeted: "They tried to abduct me twice in Malekan and once in Tehran. They attacked me with an axe in Malekan and tried to hit me on the head."

Long periods of imprisonment, torture and solitary confinement had taken their toll on the 36-year-old, he said. "He could not tolerate solitary confinement. In addition to having only one kidney, he also has a blood clot problem and must be seen by a doctor once a month for tests. He also has digestive, prostate, and lung problems and is being treated by specialists."

Another family member told IranWire via a message on Instagram that Hossein Ronaghi’s doctor had recently noticed a gland in his throat  that needed to be removed. "Now with his arrest and the mystery about whereabouts, it is not clear what will happen," they said.

 

Related coverage: 

“The authorities could come at any time”

Critically Ill Blogger Refused Hospitalization

Iran's 'User Protection Bill' Shelved by MPs

Plans for a National Intranet will make Iran more Isolated

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