Maryam Akbari Monfared from Semnan prison: The thirst of Khuzestan was quenched with blood
31-July-2021
Category: Prisoners
30-July-2021
Newsgroup: Prisoners –
Breathing in Confinement: In a letter from Semnan Prison, Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner serving the twelfth year of her sentence, supported the uprisings in Khuzestan. She wrote: “I salute to the brave youth of the protesting cities among whom I feel myself these days, rather than being surrounded with the walls. My heart beats with the rhythm of their footsteps on the streets. I bow to the thirsty martyrs of Khuzestan, and once again I raise my voice for justice.”
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner serving her twelfth year in Semnan Prison, wrote a letter in support of the protests in Khuzestan.
Maryam Akbari Monfared, whose brother and sister were executed in the summer of 1988, is the first person to file a complaint to the United Nations against the perpetrators and commanders of the 1988 massacre from inside Iran .
She wrote in part of her letter: “Summer is hot, just like the summer of 1988. They are the same killers! Those day as the members of “Death Committee”, and today under the guise of “President”! Bloodshed and slaughter again!
Although they have been raised to the position crossing the sea of blood of our loved ones, the army of justice seekers will demolish their palace.“
The full text of her letter, a copy of which has been received to “Breathing in Confinement”, is as follows:
“The thirst of Khuzestan was quenched with blood.
Although I no longer have access to the news, even during the visits. And while my only window of communication to the outside world is through the short phone conversation in the presence of a security guard, but the governmental TV reports have well informed me of the deplorable situation in Khuzestan. Over the years, I have come to realize that whatever they denied was always the truth. And this time, was the time for lying and denying about what was going on in Khuzestan.
What I learned from the news was that the cries of thirsty people were responded by hot bullets, and that the mourning land was stained again with blood.
Summer is hot, just like the summer of 1988. They are the same killers! Those days as the members of “Death Committee”, and today under the guise of “President”! Bloodshed and slaughter again!
They have been promoted to their position by crossing the sea of our loved ones’ blood. The army of justice seekers however, will demolish their palace.
After 33 years, the blood of political prisoners executed in 1988 is being mixed with the blood of young protesters killed on the streets, from November 2019 to July 2021 in Khuzestan and Lorestan. The fact which proves that no generation is safe unless the perpetrators and commanders of the 1988 genocide be brought to justice.
Our determination is to put an end to the continuation of bloodshed and crime! Our determination is to seek justice.
I salute to the brave youth in the protesting cities among whom I feel myself these days, rather than being surrounded by the walls. And my heart beats with the rhythm of their footsteps on the streets. I bow to the thirsty martyrs of Khuzestan, and once again I raise my voice for justice.
I address the government authorities and ask why did you kill my sister and brother? My voice will not be silenced, even in the hellish prison of Semnan, unless you stand trial to answer my questions!”
Maryam Akbari Monfared, Semnan prison
July, 2021
Maryam Akbari Monfared was arrested at her home In Tehran on December 30, 2009, after the protests on the Day of Ashura. Later, on June 1, 2010, in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Salavati, having been denied the right to counsel, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charge of supporting People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. She however, never plead guilty. The sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Over the past years, despite suffering from thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Maryam has been denied the access to medical care.
In September 2010, Maryam Akbari was deported to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, and afterward, in May 2011, along with other female political prisoners, she was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin. However, after nearly three weeks, following the protest of human rights organizations and the families of political prisoners, she and eight other female political prisoners were returned to Evin Prison, where other female political prisoners were being held.
In October 2016, Mrs. Akbari Monfared filed an official complaint in Tehran Prosecutor’s Office, requesting an investigation into the execution of her sister and brother. In 1981 and 1984 two of her brothers were executed by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charge of “having links with and membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.” Her younger brother and her sister were also executed in the summer of 1988, concurrently with the wave of executions of political prisoners in Iran.
Judicial officials, however, not only ignored her complaint, but also threatened her and cut off her access to essential treatments.
In February 2017, while in prison, Maryam Akbari Monfared filed a complaint with the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, urging them to hold the Iranian regime accountable for the execution of her siblings in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. Afterward, the working group recognized Abdolreza and Roqia Akbari Monfared as victims of forced disappearance and asked the Islamic Republic of Iran to explain about their fate.
In retaliation for the complaint Mrs. Akbari filed on October 17, 2016, about the execution of her siblings in 1988, the Prosecutor of Tehran deprived her of access to medical care, threatening to deport her to Sistan and Baluchestan Prison as well as adding 3 years to her prison sentence.
In a statement in April 2019, Amnesty International calling for the immediate release of Maryam Akbari, asked the Iranian authorities to end the “harassment” and “torture” of her and her family.