One of the signatories of the letter calling for Khamenei's resignation says he has received death threats
Javad Lal Mohammadi, spokesman for the Group of 14, which called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, issued a statement announcing the possibility of an "assault" on the signatories of the letter, and announced that "no matter what happens to us from now on, the guardians of this group are the Iranian nation."
On Monday, July 14, Javad Lal Mohammadi issued a statement and sent a copy of it to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, the Council of the European Union, the Center for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran, and the Center for Human Rights Defenders, stating that "the past record of this regime shows that it may use any trick, such as outsourcing murder, inciting arbitrary forces through the production of clips and the publication of dirty materials against our group, or any other action that leads to our elimination."
Part of this statement states that "Now that this dictatorial regime has no other response to the people's legitimate demands than repression, we expect the Iranian people and opposition leaders to act as soon as possible, united around Iran, to liberate their country."
Mr. Lal Mohammadi continued the statement by adding that intelligence, security, and law enforcement officials, prison guards, and arbitrary forces should know that from this date onwards, their cooperation in any crime against all freedom seekers and political prisoners and their families will be recorded as intentional participation in the crime, and no excuse will be accepted from them after the overthrow of the regime.
In late June of this year, 14 political and civil activists issued a statement addressed to Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, calling for his resignation and changing the Iranian constitution, which they believe has created a dictatorial parliament, an unelected government, and an independent judiciary.
A few weeks after signing this letter, Reza Mehregan, one of its signatories, posted a video on social media announcing that he had been attacked and beaten with a taser by unknown individuals.
Previously, Javad Lalmohammadi, a member of the Mashhad Teachers' Union and one of the signatories of the letter, had announced that he had received threatening messages several times, and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, another signatory, had released a video saying that a knife-wielding person had rung the doorbell of his house and that no officer had come to investigate after calling 110.
In addition to these encounters, Mohammad Nourizad, another signatory of the letter on Wednesday, July 9, was arrested after going to the First Branch of the 33rd District Prosecutor's Office of Evin "to defend the charges in the case" and transferred to the labor ward of Evin Prison on a bail of 100 million Tomans.
Mohammad Reza Mahdavifar was also arrested on July 12 in the cities of Aran and Bidgol. His family members cited the reason for the arrest as “insulting the leadership.” Mr. Mahdavifar, who had been imprisoned many times before and was currently serving his exile, was on leave at the time of his arrest.
The arrest of the signatories of the letter comes at a time when Ayatollah Khamenei has stated in his speeches that people are free to criticize him. However, not only is there no criticism of the Leader of the Islamic Republic in the media, but even the slightest criticism raised by activists carries the charge of insulting the Leader.
Source: Voice of America
