مسعود رجوی صفحه آخر صدای آمریکا

Bringing an end to the death penalty in Iran,The silent suffering of Iran’s children

Add caption

By: Donya Jam - In the first eight days of November, reports indicate twenty one prisoners were executed.  Between November 9-10, another seven prisoners were sent to the gallows.  Hundreds of ordinary and political prisoners have been executed since the start of 2016 and since the Iranian regime came into power in 1979, more than 120,000 souls have been taken. 

The hands of this regime are drenched with the blood of thousands of Iranians.  If you’re familiar with Iran’s judicial system, you’d know that majority of these prisoners didn’t even receive proper due process like the fathers of Asna Rahimi and Sara Bolaghi.  Asna and Sara are symbolic of the pain of all children and anyone who has ever lost a parent or loved one in the brutal executions occurring in Iran.  I will never forget their painful stories.

 In a video message, Asna Rahimi, an 11-year-old girl shared her heartbreaking story.  She is the daughter of Bahman Rahimi, a Sunni political prisoner that was executed in August 2016 along with 19 others. 

 Each time Asna got the chance to visit her imprisoned father was the happiest time of her life.  Before learning of the mass execution that occurred, Asna was on her way for a prison visit to see her father.  Asna was eager to go visit her father in prison, because Mr. Rahimi promised his daughter to get an appointment.  She was so happy and thought to herself she would even be able to pick him up from prison this time and bring him back home.  However, upon arriving to the prison, she explains she didn’t see her father but his lifeless body. In the video, she then breaks down into tears.  Sara Mansour Bolaghi also endured a similar heartbreaking experience. 

 Sara wrote a letter following the execution of her father, Mamousta Khaled Bolaghi. Mr. Bolaghi was also executed in the August 2016 mass execution of Sunni political prisoners.  Six hard months passed by without Sara being able to see her father.  Depriving families of visitations is commonly practiced by the regime in order to place more pressure on the prisoner and family.  For Sara, just like Asna, visiting her father meant everything.  Though the authorities usually only granted her a prison visit lasting about a half an hour, she still mentioned “it was as if they have given me the whole world.”  Sara’s family finally received a call saying they have permission to visit Mr. Bolaghi.  

Sara, wearing her nicest clothes that she would always wear while visiting her father was on her way to Tehran along with her family when her uncle’s phone rang.  From what was being said in the phone conversation, Sara understood her father was executed.  Upon arriving to the prison, just like Asna, Sara was also faced with the lifeless body of her father.

Never should any child or family go through what these two children faced.  Unfortunately, Asna and Sara’s stories are only two of thousands in Iran.  I will also never forget the painful screams of mothers who lost their children, like the mothers of Shahram Ahmadi and Reyhaneh Jabbari.  I will never forget the screams of the mothers who lost a child during the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.   

Needless to say, Iranians want the death penalty gone.  The only way we can bring a complete end to the death penalty is by regime change in Iran by the people and their organized resistance movement lead by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

Dedicated to working for the rights of the Iranian people, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the organization members work tirelessly to be the voice of the oppressed. The NCRI is a parliament-in-exile seeking to establish a free and democratic Iran.  In 2006, Mrs. Rajavi introduced her 10-point-plan for the future of Iran.  Calling for free elections,  Mrs. Rajavi  gender equality, separation of church and state, and a non-nuclear Iran, her plan tackles down the important issues that exist in Iran under the rule of the mullahs’ regime.  Number three of her platform calls for the abolishment of the death penalty. 

According to the NCRI, thousands remain on death-row across Iran.  To save lives and ensure the painful experiences of Asna and Sara are not repeated again, regime change needs to happen. The death penalty is a cruel practice in its entirety. So many lives have been taken by it and countless of Iranian families have been through so much devastation. Mrs. Rajavi mentioned that the movement to obtain freedom is fighting for the rights of the Iranian people so that no mother would ever shed tears of grief for her executed child. So that no one would ever have to shed tears of grief for their executed loved one. With the guidance of Mrs. Rajavi, there’s hope that a better future can be built for all of Iran’s children and people.

Share this post