A group of political prisoners in the notorious Gohardasht prison in Karaj issued a letter on Saturday April 9 condemning Mr. Matteo Renzi’s decision to travel to Iran. The Italian Prime Minister is scheduled to travel to Tehran on April 13 and 14 along with his economic team.
In a letter addressed to Renzi, these prisoners asked him not to go to their oppressed country in order to prevent having a black spot in the history of bilateral relations based on his personal decision.
Referring to Iran’s human rights violations and repeated resolutions by the UN Human Rights Council, political prisoners said that unforgivable and painful point is the appeasement of the western governments toward the Iranian regime. These governments are very committed to human rights in their own countries but “when it comes to oppressed nations like ours, they have no commitment because of oil and dollars, and instead they embolden them with economic contracts and trips and shaking their bloody hands.”
The prisoners pointed out the economic situation in Iran and said: “This regime has spent billions of dollars of this nation’s assets first for the war with Iraq, then building nuclear bomb and ballistic missiles, and by funding and military support for terrorist groups paved the way for domination of the region and the world.
The Letter from Gohardasht prison in Karaj to Mr. Matteo Renzi, Italian Prime Minister:
April 9, 2016
Honorable Prime Minster of Italy
On the verge of your visit to our occupied homeland, we political prisoners that have been enchained in mullahs’ dreaded dungeons for years bring your attention to the colossal crimes of this regime in our dear country, as well as in the region and the world. Of course we doubt that you may not be aware of these villainous activities, but we would like to once again inform you on a small segment of these innumerable crimes:
From the outset of the establishment of this regime and the spread of its dominion over this territory, in addition to economic pressures and usurpation of people’s wealth and selling off the oil and riches of this nation, this regime has resorted to flogging, torture, execution in the most abhorring manner, stoning to death, and splashing of acid on women and girls for mal-veiling, to respond to protests from any strata and class of the society, including even those close to the ruling clique who want a bigger share of the power.
It suffices to take a brief look at the resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council and the UN Third Committee or statements of the human rights organizations and institutions. The repression of journalists, intellectuals, and ethnic and religious minorities is quite ordinary for this regime that spent billions of dollars of the nations’ wealth on its anti-patriotic [Iran-Iraq] war and then set on to gain dominion over the region by building the nuclear bomb and ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
It has also resorted to financially and militarily support the terrorist groups that it itself nurtured in order to intervene and pave the way for its dominion over the region and the world. Internally, it spread the use of narcotics among the youth and teenagers to rein in any climate for dissent.
The examples we gave provides a gateway to the mindset and ideology of this antihuman regime. We do not expect anything else from this regime since this is its soul. However, the painful and unforgivable part is the appeasement of this regime by western countries, including the Italian government; countries that do not mind misfortune if it is for their neighbors. In their own countries they are a hundred percent committed to human rights, but when it comes to the countries under the dominion of fascists, they suddenly have no commitment because of the oil and dollars. To the contrary, they encourage the fascists by inking colonialist deals, paying visits, and by shaking their bloody hands.
We therefore declare to you that shaking the hands of the mullahs and sealing contracts with them will surely blemish your reputation.
We are not calling on you to refer to the rights of us prisoners or the Iranian nation to save face since both you and the regime are utterly aware that the era of such repugnant face-saving measures are over.
We therefore strongly condemn your decision to set on this trip and we urge you not to visit the Iran under tyranny which will tarnish the history of the relations between our two nations by this act which is your personal decision.
Political prisoners of Gohardasht Prison
CC:
-Italian Prime Ministry Office in Rome
-Italian foreign ministry
-Italian Embassy in Tehran
