To All Who Value Nature and Freedom; A Letter from Former Cellmates of Sepideh Kashani and Niloofar Bayani on the Occasion of World Environment Day

More than four years (1,592 days) after eight environmental activists were imprisoned in Iran, and coinciding with World Environment Day, a group of female political prisoners and former cellmates of Sepideh Kashani and Niloofar Bayani (two imprisoned environmental activists) published a letter criticizing the Iranian government’s treatment of these environmental activists.

The letter, signed by eight former prisoners including Nazanin Zaghri, Ares Amiri, and Atena Daemi, addressed “all those who value nature and freedom,” expressing their support for imprisoned activists in Iran and honoring their love and commitment to environmental protection.

The letter from former cellmates of the two environmental activists was published one day after Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, called for the release of Niloofar Bayani and other imprisoned environmental activists in Iran.

Murad Tahbaz, Niloofar Bayani, Homan Jokar, Taher Ghadiryan, Sepideh Kashani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Abdolreza Koohpayeh, and Kavous Seyed Amami were environmental activists arrested by the Revolutionary Guards in winter 2017 on charges of “espionage.” Kavous Seyed Amami died under highly suspicious circumstances in prison two weeks after his arrest. Despite international pressure, Iranian authorities never allowed independent investigations into the cause of Kavous Seyed Amami’s death. More than two years after the environmental activists’ arrest, in February 2020, the then-spokesperson of the Judiciary announced that the activists were collectively sentenced to 58 years in prison; Murad Tahbaz and Niloofar Bayani were sentenced to 10 years on charges of “cooperation with America,” Homan Jokar and Taher Ghadiryan were sentenced to 8 years on similar charges, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, and Amirhossein Khaleghi Hamidi were sentenced to 6 years on charges of “espionage,” and Abdolreza Koohpayeh was sentenced to 4 years on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to act against national security.”

The text of the letter from former cellmates of Sepideh Kashani and Niloofar Bayani is as follows:

Greetings to all those who value nature and freedom.

The truth and necessity that calls forth this letter is the void that every free ocean, every wild bird, every leopard and dolphin and Asian black bear, and everyone who has known Sepideh and Niloofar and Homan and Sam and Amir Hossein and Taher and Murad and Kavous, bear witness to. For they know how to live with love, and are concerned with the deep and crucial relationship between humans and nature.

Who in these times walks the Persian Gulf coastline on foot to save sea turtles? Who spends half their meager wages on feeding animals? Who, like a friend, stands beside local herders to prevent the destruction of native vegetation? Who fights for years and years, without infrastructure or government support, in nature and at university to save Iran’s natural habitats and waters? Who reminds us of the richness of Iran’s nature by introducing it to international environmental organizations, through scientific work, publication of specialized journals and books, discussion sessions, scientific and field research, support and collaboration with longtime environmental activists and researchers in Iran, and protection of endangered species?

The story of the 1,592 days passed by these eight nature lovers, intertwined with imprisonment, solitary confinement, loss, and the death of Kavous Seyed Amami in the early days of detention, carries clear meaning. Rulers who want every bond between people and their living environment to be in submission and truth silenced, imprison those who, armed with knowledge and awareness, try to save nature and preserve its vitality and survival. Contrary to the will of such rulers, today throughout the world, environmental protection is an increasingly fundamental issue. Many people know that hope for a better life passes through hope for nature, and this awareness would not have been possible had there not been those who persisted, at the cost of the harshest days, in creating and spreading it.

Firmness, incomparable will, and respect for nature and life; this is how we came to know Niloofar and Sepideh in the fabric of our lives in prison, and alongside them Homan, Sam, Amirhossein, Taher, Murad, Abdolreza, and Kavous; and after that, sensitivity to the environmental conditions of this earth as the true wealth of each of its inhabitants.

On the occasion of June 5th, World Environment Day, we honor the sensitivity and love that has been and remains the life and concern of theirs, and with respect to all those who strive in this cause, we acknowledge our share in supporting nature and its protectors.

A group of former cellmates of Sepideh Kashani and Niloofar Bayani:

Parisa Rafiei, Nazi Eskouei, Shokoofeh Yadollahi, Atena Daemi, Negin Ghadamian, Sepideh Farhan, Nazanin Zaghri, Ares Amiri

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign