The official media of the Judiciary, Mizan News Agency, because even the Iranian name of the month of “November” is terrifying for this branch, a year after the nationwide protests in November 2019, in a statement reported “the breeze of the Prophet’s mercy in prison cells” and Khamenei’s agreement to pardon 3780 prisoners in the days of Rabi-al-Awal (from Sunday, October 18, 2020 to Monday, November 16, 2020) on the occasion of “the joyful birth of Prophet Mohammad” (Shia says it’s 17th of Rabi-al-Awal, Sunni says the 12th, history says even the exact year of Mohammad’s birth is not known, probably one day between 570 and 573 AD). The statement added that “some of the security convicts” will be among the 3,780. The exact number of these “some” was unknown in the announcement. As for which of these “some” are to be released, it was implicitly stated: “Some of the security convicts who are being pardoned have been out of prison for some time, and will be included in the Judiciary’s pardon for good behavior and will not return to prison.” Between the lines of this “Islamic mercy” propaganda piece was easy to read that Khamenei’s Judiciary has no intention to release any protester.
The IRGC media, the regime’s propaganda, the Mizan news agency itself, took advantage of this empty news for several weeks. One week after the initial publication of this news, Mizan copied and published the exact headline of Javan newspaper, affiliated with IRGC:
The regime’s propaganda machine wrote about the release of November 2019 protesters, the “power display” of the Judiciary on the anniversary of the bloody November, and “showing off the strength of the regime while showing Islamic compassion by releasing the leaders of the riots on the anniversary of the riots.”
Power against who? Who were these “leaders”? What were their names? If they were leaders and security risk, how would they be on leave outside prison?
These questions are now being answered, more than a month after the publication of the news of the pretend release of the November 2019 nationwide protests detainees: by the November 2019 prisoners’ attorneys.
In reality, there was no amnesty for the bloody November protesters
Mustafa Nili represents a number of November 2019 protesters who are currently in detention. He says no one but one or two detainees have contacted him in the past 20 days: “In prison, they are very disappointed. […] I saw a list of 23 pardoned prisoners, about 10-12 were in prison and pardoned. And the rest of the pardoned, had not had their sentences executed at all. There were 25 Derwishes whose exile sentence was canceled. I mean, my number is about 60 people. The statement said that the November convicts were pardoned. While not even 5 of November protesters were included in this amnesty. There is an atmosphere of despair in the prison, and our reputation has been damaged as well. Because we told them, they would be pardoned. But in reality, we did not see anything.”
They may have been arrested for two bags of rice and some sausage. By what logic did you give them heavy sentences of four or five years?
Ali Mojtahedzadeh, another lawyer for the November detainees, even refuses to use the term “security” or “political” in relation to detainees and the false amnesty announced by the Judiciary, saying: “The Judiciary should answer. Some of these prisoners are not political prisoners, let alone security risks. […] Some of them did not even aim to protest in the November 2019 protests. […] Many of their families are poor. We do not know why they are labeled political and security prisoners. […] If the officials in charge of the affairs themselves spend an hour and see the prisoners, they will find out that they have arrested them based on nothing.” “Some may have been released, but that number was never 157,” the lawyer said.
Jean Voilà Jean
He lost his parents as a child. His mother had a fever and died. His father was a woodcutter, fell from a tree branch and died. He was called Jean Valjean, that it had probably been changed from “Jean, here you are, this is Jean” (Jean Voilà Jean) and entered the world of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.”
Sister of Ali Yektai, one of November 2019 detainees calls on for help to put up his hefty 600,000,000Toman bail! Ali was arrested from his workplace, taken to police station and then to a rehabilitation, just because he was present in the protests! Ali was 15 years old when arrested!
HRANA quotes a political activist who has been imprisoned in Fashafoyeh prison for some time with some of the November detainees, informs there were two who had private plaintiff, a company called “Canbo.” He confirms most of the November detainees have been sentenced to prison on “charges of gathering and conspiracy to act against national security.” In the case of the two people, of whom Canbo is a private plaintiff, in addition to the charge of “theft and destruction”, they also included gathering and conspiracy. “One of them has been sentenced to four years and two months for two 5-kg sacks of rice and the other got 8 [sentences] for [stealing] dozens of eggs.”
“Currently, the main issue for the prisoners is whether the amnesty was in place and has not been done or is going to be done,” said the political activist. “Or there was no pardon at all. According to reports from judicial authorities, there are at least a thousand open security cases in the Evin court. 80 of them are prisoners of Greater Tehran Prison and the rest are other political prisoners in the country whose statistics we do not have. My guess is that there was an amnesty, but they released those who have not gone to prison at all. According to reports, out of the 157 people who were to be released, 100 are said to be from Tehran prisons. But only in prisons like Greater Tehran, we saw the release of only three people. Where are these other 97 people? If at least 100 people have been released in Tehran, announce their names to make it clear. They cannot claim that the November detainees were pardoned. As far as we know, only two of them were pardoned.”
“Not only were these prisoners not released, but they were not helped when asked for coronavirus emergency leave,” said the former cellmate of November prisoners in the Greater Tehran Prison on granting leave to those convicted of the November 2019 protests due to COVID-19. Mr. Vaziri, assistant district attorney and prison supervisor at the District 33 Security Court, told them that “I am responsible for the leave. I am a government employee myself and had not been on leave for two years. Why do you get to go?”
These facts, now revealed a month after the proclamation of “power” and “toughness of the regime” through the propaganda machine of the repressive system, reveal a truth that is in stark contrast to the regime’s “power” and “toughness.” And that truth is nothing but the dark fear in which the sate apparatus are entangled: the fright from the power of the people, the protest of the hungry, the uprising of the barefoot. From overthrowers!
Translation of this article by Sahar.