One year after the publication of the letter calling for Khamenei's resignation; Shahla Entesari: He is the main culprit for the chaotic situation in the country
At least a year has passed since the publication of the resignation letter of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, by 14 political and civil activists.
In this letter, these activists not only called for the resignation of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, but also demanded a change to the Iranian constitution, which they said had created a dictatorial parliament, an unelected government, and an independent judiciary.
With the publication of this letter, 14 women civil activists also supported this letter, known as "Statement 14", and, considering the inequalities and problems of women in Iran, called for the Islamic Republic to be abolished and a new constitution to be drafted.
Shahla Entesari, a women's rights activist and one of the signatories of this letter, said in an interview with Voice of America on Friday, June 2, that the signatories of these statements held the country's first person, Ayatollah Khamenei, the main culprit for the chaotic situation in the country, and by publishing these letters, they had called for his resignation and the holding of free and democratic elections with the participation of parties, organizations, unions, and trade unions and civil society institutions.
But according to this women's rights activist, this request did not please government officials, and they sought to create problems for these activists by harassing the signatories of these two statements.
Ms. Entesari told VOA that before the release of this statement, most groups and activists who had had problems with the government and had been arrested or imprisoned for their demands blamed the government for the deprivation of freedoms; however, the signatories of this statement had personally addressed Mr. Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, in this statement.
In June of last 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 a change to the Iranian constitution. In August of the same year, 14 female civil activists also issued a statement calling the Islamic Republic regime “anti-women,” declaring that they were rising up against the system in protest of “sexual apartheid resulting from the patriarchal view of the jurisprudential system,” and demanding a complete transition from the Islamic Republic regime and the drafting of a new constitution.
Previously, the Islamic Republic's security officials accused the signatories of these letters of attempting to "plan a new sedition" and arrested many of the signatories of these two letters, some of whom were temporarily released after a while, while others, such as Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Nourizad, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, and Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi, remain in detention.
Shahla Entesari, who was arrested in late August 2019 and temporarily released after three months on a bail of 500 million Tomans, told VOA that despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 and its spread in Iranian prisons, her bail bondsman has recently been notified that Ms. Entesari must return to prison at the end of Ramadan to serve her sentence. The summons of this women's rights activist came at a time when it is said that she suffers from illnesses such as heart disease and cancer and needs to be treated outside of prison.
This women's rights activist also said that the sentence issued to her was six years in prison by the first instance court, which was reduced to three years and eight months by submitting to Ms. Entesari's verdict.
The US State Department says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, labor representatives, and other trade unions in recent years.
Source: Voice of America
