Jailed Dissident Journalist’s Life Is In Danger – Family
The family of Hossein Ronaghi, a civil activist who was arrested and imprisoned during the clampdown on the ongoing protests in Iran, say his life is in danger.
The family of Hossein Ronaghi, a civil activist who was arrested and imprisoned during the clampdown on the ongoing protests in Iran, say his life is in danger.
His brother Hassan Ronaghi wrote in a tweet on Friday that "the Islamic Republic intends to kill my brother Hossein."
“They kept him in prison without treatment and medicine, with a broken leg and a sick body, while he is vomiting blood,” he said, emphasizing that his life is in danger.
The dissident blogger and freedom activist was arrested over his support for protests late in September, and prison guards broke his leg in detention.
He was arrested several times in the past decade and has staged hunger strikes in prison. Ronaghi was first arrested, along with his brother Hassan, in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in 2009 for helping journalists and political activists to circumvent internet censorship. He was also charged with insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his blog posts.
In an interview with Germany's Bild published on January 28, Ronaghi spoke about losing his kidney while in Evin Prison. "I'm still suffering from the effects of the torture, but the good thing is that I'm still alive and can continue," he said.
While many top officials in Iran are adamant that the current uprising – sparked after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in hijab police custody -- must be crushed violently, some regime insiders are beginning to explore peaceful alternatives, as protesters take to the streets daily.
This comes while the protesters who take to the streets daily, risking their lives, freedom and property insist that the uprising should continue until the Islamic Republic is toppled.
On Thursday, October 13, the editor of the Islamic Republic newspaper, Masih Mohajeri, wrote in an editorial that "protesters may end the uprising and get closer to state officials if they see that their economic problems are solved and their citizenship rights are respected by those officials."
Without explaining how that would be possible, the editorial stressed that the protesters' demands must be met. Also, without mentioning the government's inefficiency, the editorial pointed out, "There are many individuals in the country who are ready to serve the people, but radical elements have kept them away from the government for various reasons. So, they are isolated, and their capabilities are not used in the management of the country."
Meanwhile, senior cleric, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called on the government "to solve the country's economic problems as everybody issuffering from the painful poverty that is imposed on the people." He further stressed: "There is no whip more painful than poverty." He warned that economic problems will not be solved as long as there are embezzlements and astronomical salaries.”
However, neither Mohajeri, nor Javadi Amoli mentioned that the current government and to a great extent its predecessor were unable to tackle the economic problems which are largely the outcome of counter-productive decisions made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his hard-line followers and inner circle.
They did not say how can Iran's economic problems be solved without an effective foreign policy that can end the country's international isolation and lift international sanctions that have paralyzed the country's economy. They also ignored the fact that without abiding by international financial regulations banning sponsorship of terrorism and money laundering, the country's economy will not be linked to global markets.
Insiders who give some constructive advice, however, often do not cross the regime’s red line of calling out Khamenei for imposing an anti-US and anti-West foreign policy on the country. They do not say that without coming to terms with the United States, limiting its nuclear program and stripping it of military dimensions, promising not to intervene in the affairs of regional states and stopping ballistic missile development, Iran will have no future.
Individuals such as Javadi Amoli and Mohajeri, regardless of their goodwill, keep forgetting that there is no visible sign in Khamenei's remarks and other officials' statement to respect citizens’ rights. Instead, there are plenty of defiant and arrogant remarks in the daily news from Iran that show neither Khamenei nor any other official has the slightest inclination to respect civil right. Many analysts have noted that their behavior is similar to those who have occupied a country and are exerting pressure on its residents.
Regardless of the severity of Iranians' financial hardship in recent months, not even a single slogan has been chanted in four weeks of uprising calling for improvement in people's livelihood. Instead, nearly all of the slogans chanted point out that what Iranians want is an end to clerical rule and Khamenei's dictatorship.
The group calling itself Tehran Youth (Javanan-e Tehran) mobilized thousands of protesters in several towns and cities on Saturday and Wednesday through social media at a time of serious internet disruptions.
In their latest statement, Tehran Youth have called on people in Tehran and other cities to gather after midday Saturday “in all places where mercenaries and repression forces are not present” to chant “Down with the Dictator”.
Sources in Tehran say security forces are now continually present in all busy streets and squares to prevent people from convening to protest and do not let any pedestrian stop even for a short time. Footage of recent protests generally shows smaller, mobile groups that join together, chant, and separate again in a flash-mob style whenever they find a chance.
The mobility of protesters and their distribution in various neighborhoods, however, has now turned into a big problem for the security forces who are seen in some videos aimlessly running around to confront protesters and exhausting themselves even more after long hours of deployment.
Tehran Youth have stressed “neighborhood-centered presence” of protesters in their statement to minimize harm and casualty among protesters. “The best [Internet] anti-blockage tool now is [presence] on the streets,” they said referring to the internet curfew that sometimes turns into total blackout.
Observers in Tehran say the movement to overthrow the Islamic Republic, as protesters’ slogans indicate, has yet not grown to its full potential and that currently it is the younger generation that is carrying both the burden of the protests and the brunt of the violence.
Security forces have violently cracked down on students in various universities and arrested hundreds. They have targeted the students both inside the universities and outside. Footage posted on social media Wednesday showed a female student outside Tehran University whose eye was seriously injured with a steel pellet directly aimed at her.
“They have managed to scare the students into silence in some universities in the past few days, but the anger is there like burning coals under ashes. It can resurface any minute,” a student from Tehran’s Amir-Kabir University told Iran International.
Authorities claim that the protesters are only a minority in the Iranian society and that most Iranians are supportive of the establishment. “It is true that the numbers on the streets is not really huge but dissent is overwhelming in magnitude. The momentum is growing by the day like an avalanche,” a source in Tehran who asked not to be named said.
The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has dictated such strict censorship guidelines to the media that one would think nothing at all has been happening in the country if they looked at frontpages of newspapers.
Authorities are hoping that by internet and media censorship they can limit people’s sources of information to state and and IRGC-linked media which accuse protesters of rioting and destruction of public property without any mention of the violence against them.
“The media crisis in the Islamic Republic has turned into a national security crisis the continuation of which will be costly to the system and the country,” Elias Hazrati, managing director of the reformist Etemad newspaper warned the SNSC Secretary, Ali Shamkhani, in an open letter Wednesday. “Let domestic media report freely,” he wrote.
