One of the Signatories of the Letter Calling for Khamenei’s Resignation Says He Has Been Threatened with Death
“Javad Laalmohammadi,” spokesperson of Group 14, who had called for the resignation of Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, announced through a statement the possibility of “assassination attempts” against the signatories of this letter and declared that “from now on, if anything happens to us, the people of Iran are the guardians of our blood.”
Javad Laalmohammadi, on Monday, July 15, by issuing a statement and sending copies of it to the UN Secretary General, the UN Human Rights Council President, Amnesty International, the European Council, the Center for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran, and the Human Rights Defenders Association, stated that “the past record of this regime shows that it may benefit from any trick such as outsourcing murder, inciting vigilante forces through the production of clips and the spread of dirty content against our group, or any other measure that would lead to our elimination.”
In a section of this statement, he is prepared to say that “now that this dictatorial regime, besides suppression, gives no other response to the legitimate demands of the people, we expect from the Iranian nation and opposition leaders to act as soon as possible with unity around the axis of Iran and to free our country.”
Mr. Laalmohammadi further added in this statement that the officials of intelligence, security, police, prison guards, and vigilante forces should know that from this date forward, their cooperation in any crime against all freedom lovers, political prisoners, and their families will be recorded as deliberate participation in the crime, and after the overthrow of the regime, no excuse from them will be accepted.
In late June of this year, 14 political and civil activists issued a statement addressed to Seyyed Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, calling for his resignation and changes to Iran’s constitution, which they claim has created a ceremonial parliament, a powerless government, and an independent judiciary.
Several weeks after signing this letter, Reza Mehregan, one of its signatories, announced on social media by releasing a video that he was attacked and beaten by unknown individuals with a shocker.
Before that, Javad Laalmohammadi, a member of the Tehran Teachers’ Association 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 stated in a video that a person had rang the doorbell with a knife in his hand at his home, and after contacting 110, no officer came to investigate.
Beyond these incidents, Mohammad Nourizad, another signatory of the letter, was arrested on Wednesday, July 10, following his visit to the first branch of the prosecutor’s office in District 33 of Evin “to defend against the charges in the case,” and was transferred to the labor ward of Evin Prison with the issuance of a bail of 100 million tomans.
Mohammad Reza Mahdavifar was also arrested on July 22 in the city of Aran and Bidgol. Members of his family cited the reason for his arrest as “insulting the supreme leader.” Mr. Mahdavifar, who had been imprisoned several times before and was serving his exile period, was on leave when he was arrested.
The arrest of the signatories of the letter comes as 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 is accompanied by the charge of insulting the supreme leader.
Source: Voice of America
