Suppression of mourning and demand for freedom, criticism of the continuation of political arrests in the Islamic Republic
The suppression of mourning and demands for freedom has once again focused attention on political arrests and violations of human dignity in Iran.
Following a new wave of political and security arrests in Iran, reactions to the government's treatment of memorial ceremonies and peaceful civil activities have intensified. The arrest of participants in the memorial ceremony for the late Khosrow Alikurdi in Mashhad has once again raised the fundamental question before public opinion as to why even mourning and human sympathy are turned into a security crime in the Islamic Republic.
Khosrow Alikurdi, a lawyer and well-known human rights activist, was a figure who worked for years in defense of political and ideological prisoners and victims of injustice. His memorial ceremony, which was held peacefully, was met with a strong security response and led to the mass arrest of a number of civil society activists, journalists and human rights activists, an action that many observers have considered a clear example of a violation of the right to freedom of assembly, expression and human dignity.
In this regard, in his recent video message, Prince Reza Pahlavi, while condemning these arrests, called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and called on human rights organizations to launch international campaigns for their release. In this message, he emphasized the moral responsibility of the international community against the systematic repression in Iran.
In this message, Prince Reza Pahlavi stated: "As I said in a recent video message to my compatriots and the brave people of Mashhad, every single person who was arrested at the memorial service for the late Khosrow Alikurdi must be released unconditionally." We continue to follow up on this issue and I also call on all human rights organizations and groups to launch a campaign to free the following individuals: "Ali Adinehzadeh, Abolfazl Abri, Hasti Amiri, Akbar Amini, Mohammad Reza Babaei, Javad Jalali, Heydar Chahchamandi, Hamed Hosseini, Noura Haqi (Vahide Haqparast), Mahmoud Khanali, Amir Khavari, Mohammad Ali Dehestani, Hamed Rasoulkhani, Mehdi Rasoulkhani, Hamed Zare, Mohammad Zanganeh, Milad Fattah, Zahra (Raha) Sharifi, Javad Alikordi, Sepideh Qolyan, Narges Mohammadi, Alia Motabalzadeh, Pouran Nazemi, Tayyebeh Nazari, Amin Vosoughinia."
The arrests of names such as Narges Mohammadi, Sepideh Gholian, and other well-known human rights activists demonstrate a recurring pattern in the behavior of the Iranian government; a pattern according to which any independent civil action, even in the form of mourning or commemoration, is interpreted as a threat to the security of the system.
From a Christian and theological perspective, this approach is clearly at odds with the fundamental principles of human dignity, freedom of conscience, and the right to seek the truth, principles that are emphasized not only in Christian teachings but also in universal human rights documents. Churches and Christian institutions have repeatedly warned that a government that fears peaceful assembly and the commemoration of the dead is in fact afraid of the power of truth.
In a situation where the Islamic Republic is trying to silence the voice of justice through repression and intimidation, the call for the unconditional release of the detainees is not simply a political demand, but a moral cry to defend humanity, conscience, and justice. The indifference of the international community to such cases would mean normalizing oppression and continuing the cycle of repression.
