One Year After Release of Khamenei Resignation Petition; Shehla Entesari: He is the Main Culprit Behind the Country’s Chaotic Situation
At least one year has passed since the publication of a resignation letter addressed to 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 the amendment of Iran’s Constitution – which, according to them, has created a consultative parliament, a powerless government, and an independent judiciary – to be changed.
Following the publication of this letter, 14 female civil activists also issued a statement in support of this petition, known as “Statement 14,” and in light of the inequalities and problems facing women in Iran, called for a transition beyond the Islamic Republic and the drafting of a new constitution.
Shehla 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 first person of the state, Ayatollah Khamenei, as the main culprit behind the country’s chaotic situation, and by publishing these letters, called for his resignation and the holding of free and democratic elections with the participation of parties, organizations, syndicates, and professional and civil institutions.
However, according to this women’s rights activist, this request was not welcomed by government authorities, and by harassing the signatories of these two statements, they sought to create problems for these activists.
Ms. Entesari told Voice of America that before the publication of these statements, most groups and activists who had problems with the government up to that point and had been arrested or imprisoned for their demands held the government responsible for the deprivation of freedoms; however, the signatories of this statement addressed Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, directly in this statement.
Last year in June, 14 political and civil activists published a statement addressed to Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, calling for his resignation and the amendment of Iran’s Constitution. In August of the same year, 14 female civil activists also issued a statement describing the Islamic Republic system as “anti-women,” and declared that in protest against “sexual apartheid resulting from the patriarchal view of the theocratic system,” they had risen up against this system and called for a complete transition from the Islamic Republic system and the drafting of a new constitution.
Earlier, the security authorities of the Islamic Republic accused the signatories of these letters of attempting to “design a new sedition” and arrested many of the signatories of these two letters. Some of them were temporarily released after some time, while others such as Hashem Khosravar, Mohammad Nourizadeh, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, and Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi remain in detention.
Shehla Entesari, who was arrested in late August 2019 and was temporarily released after three months on a bond of 500 million tomans, told Voice of America that despite the outbreak of the new coronavirus and COVID-19 disease and its spread in Iranian prisons, she has recently been notified by her bail guarantor 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 receive treatment outside of prison.
This women’s rights activist also said regarding the verdict issued against her that the primary court ruling was six years in prison, which was reduced to three years and eight months after Ms. Entesari accepted the verdict.
The U.S. State Department says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, workers’ representatives, and other groups in recent years.
Source: Voice of America
