Political prisoners urge Iranians to boycott elections
Two Iranian political prisoners Abolghasem Fouladvand and Majid Assadi have called on their fellow citizens to boycott regime’s parliamentary elections and instead support the overthrow of the regime. This was in line and after a call to boycott made by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
This call received a positive answer, and regime’s elections met with a general boycott.
These letters are the latest in a series from political prisoners who are risking their lives to make their voices and the voices of all those calling for regime change, heard.
Assadi, who is being held in Gohardasht (Raja’i Shahr) prison, began his letter by saying that the mullahs stole the people’s 1979 revolution, rigged the 1980 presidential elections by disqualifying Massoud Rajavi, and then over the course of the last 40 years tried to eliminate any opposition to the regime.
He wrote: “In this regime, the vote of the people has no meaning, and it is the whims of the supreme leader that make decisions. The supreme leader takes advantage of the people’s religion and beliefs to justify his rule and the farce of the elections is meant to extend his rule at the expense of the people. “
Assadi said that the real measure of the Iranian people’s feelings were the recent uprisings, where protesters chanted ‘Death to the tyrant, be he the Shah or the supreme leader’ and ‘death to the rule of the mullahs’.
Assadi wrote: “Indeed, the real vote of our generation and our rebellious youth is the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime and the establishment of freedom, democracy, national sovereignty.”
Assadi was arrested in 2017 on charges of “propaganda and conspiracy against the establishment” and sentenced to six years in prison and two years in exile. During his imprisonment, he has been subjected to severe torture.
Fouladvand, who is also incarcerated in Gohardasht prison, wrote that it was his “duty” to follow the call of Maryam Rajavi, the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He also said that the recent uprisings showed that the Iranian people could overthrow the mullahs because they were supported by the resistance units.
He then quoted Massoud Rajavi as saying that the regime will continue its repression until the very last day, which was even more reason to stand up against them.
Fouladvand, who was arrested in 2013 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “waging war against god and supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)”, said it was the Iranian people’s duty to boycott the elections. This, he said, would show solidarity with the 1,500 martyrs of the November 2019 uprising and encourage the international community to support the Iranian people and their resistance.
