Leila Hassanian: "Waiting to die in Turkey."

 

  My name is Leila Hassanian: I was born into a tribal family in the southern part of Iran. I was the second child of parents who had been waiting for many years for the birth of a son. My birth disappointed them. My father was the eldest son of the tribal family. He was desperate for the birth of a male child in order to carry on the family legacy and establish his name.

    "No one was happy with my birth. Even my own grandparents were sad."

    It wasn't until four years later that they were blessed with a birth of a son. That's when the celebration began and the dark clouds of sadness were lifted from their lives. During my childhood and adolescence, all of the family attention was focused on my brother and no attention was ever given to the girls.

    At the age of 20, I became the victim of a forced marriage. My father chose my husband and my marriage was a disaster from the very beginning. My husband was not pleased with me. Very soon afterwards we fled to Turkey to become refugees and that's when my life became almost unbearable! There was no love and communication in our marriage. I couldn't get a job and I suffered day and night under the harsh control of my husband. I became very depressed and although I sought counseling and therapy for relief, I couldn't find any help. Unable to sleep at nights because of the stress, I began taking sleeping pills. The Immigration office refused to give me any help for my marital problems and so one night I escaped to Ankara.

    I applied for a divorce at a court in Ankara and after a week, the Immigration office deported me back to the same city that my husband was living in. They detained me and placed me in a larger central detention center where I suffered miserably for 60 days. I could not prove to the courts that my life was in danger if sent back to Iran and so I am currently in danger of being deported.

    I have no ID cards, no interviews with the UNHCR, no human rights in Turkey, and I am forced to work 12 hours a day earning only $1.00 an hour! While I'm at work, I am the constant target of sexual and psychological harassment from men.

    

    However in the midst of all of the darkness and despair, I have found hope in Jesus. I am busy studying the Christian faith with other Iranian-Christians. For the first time in my life, I have a real peace in my heart. Please pray for me and be my voice. If I'm deported back to Iran, they will deal harshly with me as a Christian. I will surely be imprisoned for the rest of my life.

   "Be my voice in Turkey. I don't want to die!"

Afsaneh: Forty years a slave to Sharia

 

    A young girl or woman living in Iran in the 21st century will quickly understand what it means to be a second class citizen. She has experienced the true meaning of disgrace and humiliation in a country where her value has been reduced to the size of man's left testicle.

    My name is Afsaneh Rostami and I am that woman! I am 40 years old struggling to survive with hopes and dreams for my son's future. I am a single mother with the difficult task of raising him all alone in a male-dominated culture without any support from my family.

    I have been fighting my entire life against a corrupt system of "anti-woman Sharia laws" that devalues and disgraces a woman and treats her like a sexual slave. The longer that I live, the more that I realize that there is no hope in the darkness. My family forced me to marry at an early age and I had a child when I was just a young teenager. Very soon afterwards I was divorced not understanding the true meaning of love and marriage. My family separated me from my son declaring that I was unfit to raise him. For eight long years I was prevented from seeing him because of my gender under existing Islamic law.

    I had to escape in order to find hope and freedom. I stayed awake every night crying because I was unable to hold my son in my arms. Desperate and afraid, I escaped from my family who wanted to kill me because I didn't fit the role model of an Islamic woman.

    "I have not lived for 40 years. I have been miserable and unhappy. I have not danced for 40 years. I am tired......"

    I finally arrived in Turkey to seek refuge in a safe country but my pain has doubled since my arrival. I have no income so I had to find a job, but unfortunately refugees are not allowed to work in Turkey. They are prohibited from obtaining a work permit. When the Turkish police discovered that I had a job on the "black market" I was arrested and my residence card was revoked. After living in Turkey for eight years, the government has given me a deportation notice despite being accepted by the UNHCR. If I am deported back to Iran the government will execute me because I am political activist.

    Iran was once a civilized country but with the Islamic Invasion centuries ago and the Revolution in 1979 that caused the Shah to be exiled, now my beloved Persian nation is filled with death, destruction, and poverty. When the Shah was in power, the face of Iran was changing into a western secular nation that had gender equality and freedom. But when Khomeini seized power, Iran was transformed into a theocratic nation with the iron-fisted rule of Islamic Mullahs. They have suppressed our freedom-seeking heroes, scientists, and educators, silencing their voices. The government is killing our youth out in the streets because of their peaceful protesting. They are imprisoning and executing our sons, our daughters, and our young women, simply because they want freedom and the right to make choices.

    Now that you've read my story, I only have one request of you. Please be my voice! If I am deported, I will no longer have a voice. For forty years, I have struggled and fought in a culture that hates freedom and hates women. I haven't danced in 40 years. Please be my voice so that I can dance again!

"A Lion in Persia: The assassination of Dr. Ardeshir Hosseinpour."

 

           

    The bright rays of sunrise gently peeked across the horizon in the city of Shiraz, Iran. Sara awoke early as was her custom and grabbed her cell phone from off the table next to her bed. She speed dialed her husband’s number and then patiently waited for him to pick up.

    No answer…her call went into voice mail.

    Sara dialed once again, now sitting up in bed, anxious for her husband to answer. Ardeshir should have been up by now, preparing to dress and head out to his class at the university to teach.  He had a very predictable routine and Sara knew it by heart. They had only been married for just twenty-five days after being in love for a year and a half. Her teacher and class professor had gone from being her university sweetheart to her young and handsome husband.

     Once again, no answer…. her second call went into voice mail.

     By now, Sara was feeling frustrated and a little worried. If she had been with him at their new apartment, the night before, calling him on the cell phone would have been unnecessary. Ardeshir had insisted that she remain at home with her sick father and Sara reluctantly agreed.

     As she threw on some clothes in a haste, Sara continued calling her husband, and still there was no answer. Maybe he overslept, or maybe there was problems with the cell phone or the wifi. Their new apartment was in disarray. Many items still remained unpacked and sleeping on the floor had become a routine until they both managed to find the time to purchase a new bed to sleep on.

    The phone continued to go into voice mail.

     Sara was now fully dressed. As she stood in front of the mirror to adjust her hijab, she could feel her heart racing in her chest. She remembered back to the last conversation that they had together. Ardeshir mentioned that he was supposed to meet with two men to discuss some scientific issues. The meeting would take place later that night at their apartment. She grabbed her purse and class books and paused at the front door, taking a deep breath. It was only a ten-minute drive from her father’s house to their apartment. Sara phoned for a taxi. She decided to go first to the university. Ardeshir would most certainly be there for the early morning 8 am class. His students would be waiting inside for him.

      Arriving at the university, Sara quickly entered through the front door. She immediately noticed that the students had gathered in the hallway impatiently waiting for Ardeshir’s arrival.

      Sweat rolled down Sara’s cheeks. Fear gripped her heart. She began running toward their apartment that was only ten minutes away from the university. Upon arriving, she nervously inserted the key into the lock of the front door.

     “Ardeshir, Ardeshir,” She nervously cried out as she continued to twist the key into the lock.

      The door finally opened and immediately she was greeted with a blast of hot air in her face.

      The first thing she noticed was the roar of the furnace running on its highest setting. Sprawled out in front of the bedroom door was Ardeshir covered up to his neck in a blanket. It was highly unusual for Ardeshir to be sleeping with a blanket over himself and the furnace turned up on high. He disliked the heat and never slept with a blanket.

      Sara raced over to her husband. He must have overslept and didn’t hear his cell phone ringing. She knelt down beside him and began shaking his body with her right hand.

     “Honey. Honey, wake up, it’s me, Sara. Ardeshir! Ardeshir!”

      Ardeshir didn’t move. He was unresponsive. Sara violently shook him once again.

     “Ardeshir! Ardeshir. Please wake up. Wake up!”

 

                                                 ***************

 

     For the last 14 years, since his mysterious death on January 15, 2007, Mahboobeh Hosseinpour has been a powerful voice for her brother, refusing to accept the government’s official version that Ardeshir’s death was accidental.  The government concluded that his death was the result of gas poisoning and then they invented a number of possible scenarios, including heart disease, a jealous lover, and finally an assassination plot conceived by Mossad and carried out by Israeli spies.

      Mabi ( Maboobeh) refuses to accept any of these scenarios. Instead she has been busy launching a campaign to get the truth of her brother’s death out to the media, but has run into a brick wall of fear and political correctness. The BBC never returned any of her emails and VOA Persian rejected her story for fear of consequences from the Iranian regime. Since Mabi is an activist for regime change in Iran and a loyal supporter of the Pahlavi Dynasty, the media has boycotted her story. They are opposed to women like Mabi who are dedicated to the Shah.   The media understands that accusing Iran of assassinating their top scientist strikes at the heart of the Islamic Republic, exposing them as a cruel and oppressive government. The world cannot and must not know the real story of what goes on behind the iron curtain of the Islamic Republic of Iran!

      In October of 2010, Mabi traveled from Iran to the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. She stayed for 55 days, late into the month of December, pleading with the security officers to contact Washington and put pressure on Iran. She explained the tragic story of how she believed her brother was assassinated because he refused to enrich the uranium stockpile to 20 percent which far exceeded the legal limits.

      “Please contact the State Department and tell them my story. Iran can’t be trusted with their nuclear ambition,” Mabi insisted, “If the United States puts more sanctions on the government, it could lead to another revolution and the people can overthrow this evil regime!”

  Unfortunately, Mabi’s desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead of the Obama Administration putting more tough sanctions on Iran, they had empowered and enriched the Mullahs with more than 150 billion dollars in sanctions relief money in a July 2015 nuclear deal. Obama and Biden had betrayed the Iranian people!  In 2009, they had both refused to listen to the cries of Iranian protesters during the bloody presidential election uprising and now in 2015 they were celebrating a dangerous deal that would eventually allow this evil regime to develop nuclear weapons!

 

                                                                     *******************

 

 

    Ardeshir Hosseinpour was born on December 21, 1962 in Tehran during the Yalda Celebration which is the longest night of the year. Iran was a prosperous nation at the time under the leadership of the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi who had recently implemented important reforms known as the White Revolution, one such reform granting women the right to vote. In 1962, Iran was a very secular and free culture without the oppressive religious restrictions that were to come later. Women were not required to wear a veil when going on publicly and the sexes were not segregated. Life under the Shah was a celebration of diversity and freedom.

    Ardeshir’s name had been specially chosen by his father, Nasrollah to commemorate national pride. The name Ardeshir, literally in Persian means, “holy king.”  Ardeshir’s parents wanted to instill on their children the richness of Persian history pushing back the influences of Islam from the 7^th century. Their family book was “the book of Kings,” written by the famous Persian poet, Ferdowsi, who preserved the Persian language, history, and mythology from being erased by the Arabs.

     From his early childhood, at the age of seven, Ardeshir had aspirations of becoming a scientist. He loved nature and was very concerned about the environment and the diseases that were cutting the short the lifespan of his people. At the time of the Revolution in 1978, Ardeshir was 16 years old and busy pursuing his scientific endeavors. His mind was not occupied with Khomeini and his vision for a new Iran. Instead he was concentrating on mathematics and physics. He had a vision to transform the environment of Iran and construct a pipe system for irrigation changing the desert into a forest eco system.

     Aredeshir’s early life was filled with outstanding achievements. By the age of 19 he had earned the highest degree in Martial arts, the black belt. While serving in the army, he received an award for braveness and leadership. After his tour of duty in the war with Iraq, Ardeshir continued to pursue his educational career by earning four degrees in electronics, engineering, computer, and metalogy. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Physics and his Phd in Atomic Physics. His outstanding achievements enabled him to become one of Iran’s top nuclear scientists specializing in uranium enrichment.

     From the time he was recognized as one of Iran’s top nuclear scientists, he had been under government scrutiny and surveillance. Mabi, Aredshir’s sister, explains the various reasons that led to his assassination in 2007.

   “They, the government, was very jealous of his intellect. Ardeshir was a handsome man and for that reason alone, the Mullah’s hated him. They would always complain about him wearing sunglasses, believing that it would tempt women. They complained about his shirtsleeves being too high up on his arms revealing too much skin. This of course is because of the extreme dress code in Iran.”

    However, the number one reason for the government assassinating him was because of his opposition to the Bushehr nuclear site. Ardeshir was invited to tour this site and he spoke out against its usefulness to the government.

    It’s not useful. It’s not that important. It’s too old and too expensive and not good for national interest.”

   Ardeshir’s objection enraged the government.  When he refused to enrich the uranium to 20% which was beyond the legal limit, this act of defiance sealed his fate. The government hated his moral character. His morality, kindness, and honesty put him at odds with the Mullahs. One of his favorite rituals before teaching class was to quote from the Persian poet, Ferdowsi. He never quoted from the Quran and in the eyes of the government, that act alone was treasonous.

   With tears in her eyes from the years of pain and anguish, Mabi explains what she believed happened on the night of his assassination on January 15, 2007.  Ardeshir received a call while speaking with his wife Sara and was instructed to meet with some important officials alone later on at his apartment. He urged his wife to stay behind and take care of her ailing father. Ardeshir then drove alone back home. Neighbors reported seeing him pacing back and forth on his balcony at 3 am. waiting anxiously for his meeting. Mabi believes sometime later when Ardeshir retired for the night, that government agents climbed atop his apartment building and dropped poisonous pellets down through the chimney. They waited a few minutes and then entered his apartment, turned up the heater, and laid a blanket across his body. They wanted to give the appearance that Ardeshir fell asleep and died as a result of gas poisoning from a malfunction with the heater. However, when the heater was later inspected it was found to be functioning perfectly!

  It’s been ten years since Mabi traveled to Nairobi and urged the officers at the American Embassy to contact the Obama Administration about her brother. She warned them not to trust Iran. Her plea fell on deaf ears. Instead they forged ahead with a disastrous Nuclear deal in 2015 and appeased the Mullahs with over 150 billion dollars in sanctions relief money which they used to finance their terrorism.

        

  Mabi has dedicated her life to tell the world the truth about really happened to her brother. She is a passionate human rights activist that is a powerful voice for the plight of all Iranians. Ardeshir must not be forgotten! His story and his legacy must be told to every media outlet around the world. His death must not be in vain. He stood brave and strong against the dictatorship government in Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons. We must do the same!

    

"Like lambs to slaughter."

 The November Uprising in Iran was the bloodiest confrontation betwen the government and protesters since the 1979 Revolution. Over 1500 peaceful protesters were executed by a dictatorship government. This article will appear in  my new book, "Shout Freedom: The desperate cry of 
Iranians."

                                                     

                             

    Friday, November 15, 2019 is a day that Iranians will not soon forget! The government announced that is was hiking the gas prices by more than 200 percent! The new fuel tax outraged Iranians who were already struggling to make ends meet in a desperate economic situation burdened by the U.S. sanctions. Refusing to comply with the oppressive new regulations, Iranians took to the streets in massive protests across 200 cities and towns, demanding their rights and confronting the sins of the regime, shouting, “Death to the dictator!”

    Supreme leader Ali Khamenei summoned his inner circle after watching the massive uprising and gave a stern command to them, “The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order!”

    What transpired after the Supreme Leader’s command, resulted in one of the bloodiest episodes since the Islamic Revolution of 1979!

     In order to conceal their savagery, the government shut down the internet nationwide to confuse the protesters and hide from the world, the evil they were about to do. The IRGC, (Iran Revolutionary Guard) descended upon the innocent, peaceful protesters, intending to crush the revolt, and began shooting them in the head and heart. In the end, after two bloody and violent weeks, over 1,500 Iranians lay dead in the streets and hospital beds, 17 of them young teenagers, and 400 of them women! Over 4,000 had been wounded and 7,000 arrested. The IRGC had successfully carried out the direct orders of the Supreme Leader, sparing no mercy! Bodies of protesters were later found floating in rivers, while the wounded lay critically injured in hospital beds, some snatched up by security forces, and immediately dragged away to prison. 

    After the internet was finally restored, the world saw shocking videos of the military perched high above the roofs of apartment buildings and shooting directly into the crowds of peaceful protesters. Families of the victims were denied access to their loved one’s bodies and were told by security that they must first pay for the cost of the bullets that had killed their sons or daughters!

     Supreme Leader Khamenei described the protesters as, “thugs and hooligans,” while Assembly of Experts official, Ahmad Khatmai, speaking at a Friday prayer on November 22, called them “saboteurs waging war against God,” declaring that, “execution by hanging for the leaders of the riots are certain!”

     The innocent protesters, discouraged and despaired over the economic chaos, had taken to the streets, most of them in a peaceful manner, simply to let their voices be heard, demanding relief from the oppressive tax hikes. Some of the protesters were unfortunately caught in the line of fire while performing acts of kindness. One such innocent victim was 34-year-old Ameneh Shahbazi, a housewife and mother residing in the city of Karaj. Ameneh left home on Sunday, November 17 to buy medicine only to be thrust into the chaos of the protests. She noticed a man near her had been shot and immediately responded to give him first aid. Removing her hijab, Ameneh began wrapping it around his wounded leg, when suddenly she was shot in the back of the head. Her body was withheld from the family for two days until they agreed that that no special ceremonies would be performed at the graveside and no interviews given to the media.

                                                                            ***********

   “We had been engaged for three days. They were the best days of my life. We were to marry on January 16, but they took my Mesyam away from me! I wish that I were dead, too!”

      A devastated and tearful, Samieh Shirdel, will never experience the joy of that special wedding day. The IRGC made sure of that! Meysam was shot in the abdomen on Saturday, November 16 in Karaj City, near Tehran, on his way home from work. Samieh last spoke to her fiancé at around 5 pm and informed him about the chaotic protest situation. The situation was so dangerous that cab drivers refused to take on passengers, which forced Meysam to walk home. It was on his way home, that Meysam was fired upon. His friends rushed him to the hospital from the repair shop where he worked as a mechanic. His hands were still greasy from work as he lay struggling for his life in a dirty hospital bed.

     Meysam was in excruciating pain. His body was black and blue. His eyes were puffy. Samieh visited him the next day. It was two days before his 28^th birthday. The fatal bullet had cut through his intestines and damaged his spine. Four days later Meysam died from his wounds. This unjust tragedy came at time when the couple were experiencing the happiest moments of their lives.

     “The memories of those days are all that I have left,” Samieh tearfully explained.

     The evil regime had been successful in crushing the protests and also crushing forever the lives of so many innocent young children and women, who will never see the reality of their dreams come true. Their dreams of freedom and democracy ended with a stern reminder that The Islamic Republic of Iran is an iron-fisted dictatorship that forbids the exercise of free speech. Like lambs led to the slaughter, the peaceful protesters had been brutally murdered by a government intent on controlling their minds and hearts from the cradle to the grave. However, the world will never forget their cause, and I will never stop being their voice!

                           “Lambs to slaughter. Sons and daughters

                              Tears are falling. We haven’t forgotten.

                             Lambs to slaughter. Made to order.

                           Tears are falling. We haven’t forgotten you."

Shima and Dariush, "Exiled to Turkey."

   I'm Shima Babaei, a 24-year-old Iranian human rights activist. I was arrested several times by the security forces for my peaceful activities and sentenced to six years in prison. At the present time, I’m living in Turkey as a refugee with my husband Dariush Zand, who is also a human rights activist. Unfortunately, we have both been forced to leave our country for our safety.

     I was in the first year of my high school when the bloody election protests of 2009 began in Iran. I was fifteen years old at the time. My father, who has an extensive background of arrests and torture due to his activism, had recently been arrested once again, after the interrogators forced his friend to confess to them about his political activities.

     My father had been in solitary confinement for four months and was severely tortured.  During those four months, we had been deprived from visiting him. Watching him suffer had a huge impact on me. I became familiar with the meaning of the words, injustice, oppression, and torture. His imprisonment determined the path for the rest of my life. I knew I could no longer be silent. I must stand up against oppression!  My activism began with writing anti-government slogans on the walls of my school. When I turned 17, I was outraged when watching the films of those killed in the 2009 protests, especially the death of Neda Agha-Soltan. I was so inspired by her courage that I wished that I could die like her in order for my country to gain freedom.

       I remember that the first time I went with a friend to the gravesites of those killed in the 2009 protests, we were immediately arrested by government agents. We were interrogated for several hours and then transferred to Evin prison. They found out about my father’s background and forced me to sign a pledge to never engage in these activities again and then they released us.

       A few weeks later, I decided I could not abide by this pledge and had to continue speaking out. I began attending the meetings of political activist Atena Daemi.  Atena was very outspoken against forced child labor and the death penalty. Unfortunately, our meetings were raided by government agents and five of my best friends were arrested. However, since I was employed at the time and unable to attend all of the meetings, I was very fortunate to escape arrest.

       My first official detention took place in 2016. I was transferred to solitary confinement by the Revolutionary Guards and subjected to several days of intense interrogation and psychological torture. Due to intense pressure by the Media, I was released.

       My last arrest by the Ministry of Intelligence took place in 2018. I was transferred to Evin Prison and kept in solitary confinement. My husband, Dariush had also been arrested and sent to prison by security forces. Upon my arrival to prison, a prison officer demanded me to remove my clothes and get naked. When I resisted, she violently ripped my clothes off and gave me a pair of dirty prison garments to wear. One of my biggest problems in prison was insomnia. They refused to give me any drugs, but toward the end they began injecting me with an unknown drug that caused me to be extremely ill.

        During the interrogations I was blindfolded and only allowed to raise it up from covering my eyes in order to write down the answers to their questions. I was in Ward 2A and every morning after breakfast I was escorted to the detention room for another 10-hour day of grueling interrogations. During my eight-day imprisonment, I was interrogated for 80 hours by the IRGC (Iran Revolutionary Guard) After my temporary release, I was summoned to the IRGC’s Provisional Bureau twelve times and interrogated face to face for three to four hours at a time. Fortunately, I was not physically beaten, but my interrogator would severely kick the base of the chair I was sitting on and strike me in the head with his pen, demanding me to write out my confession of political activities. After my release I couldn’t trust anyone and became paranoid that security guards were eavesdropping on my conversations. I isolated myself from people at this time and became depressed because of the trauma I had endured.

                                                            **************

        I could see myself sitting in the cold and in the darkness, waiting for my husband to be released from prison. I anxiously paced back and forth in the waiting room and suddenly saw my father rushing towards me. I saw intense sadness in my mother’s eyes as she extended her hand toward me. I looked down and saw myself handcuffed and began running in fear. I gasped for breath and suddenly awoke. Darius was tugging at my clothes, struggling to wake me up from my nightmare!

          “The smuggler is here. We must go!”

        I forced myself to get up because of my husband’s urgings, but I didn’t want to go! I was hoping someone would come and say, “You can both stay in Iran. There is no danger for you!” All I wanted to do was hug my mother and cry, but reality set in and we both quickly left with the smuggler.

        The smuggler had to leave us in the border mountains of Iran and Turkey and we were arrested by border guards. This was the darkest trial of my life. I had resisted leaving my homeland and now once again I had been arrested. After five days we were both handed over to the Immigration Police. Dariush and I were separated. For one month, I couldn’t eat and became violently ill. The horrifying reality of being deported back to Iran took a heavy psychological toll on me. It was because of the Islamic Republic that we had been banned from education, tortured and arrested. Our lives had become a living hell!

        Finally, after six months, we were released and agreed to seek asylum. However, now we have become second class citizens in Turkey and forced to find work on the black market. We have no idea how long our stay in Turkey will be. There are many Iranians presently living here and sometimes it takes up to four years before they can find a country that will sponsor them. The Islamic Republic of Iran has made us prisoners. Darisuh and I are fighting every day to tear down the walls of this big prison and achieve freedom.

Atena Daemi: "I stand for life and humanity."

      In Iran, remaining silent is what the evil regime prefers every slave of the dictatorship to abide by. However, one such brave woman refuses to obey this requirement and her name is Atena Daemi. Atena is well known for her “anti execution” campaign and this is one of the reasons that she is treated so harshly by the government!

      Atena stands strong for life and humanity, which is the total opposite of this “culture of death!” She is passionate about fighting for women’s rights, children’s rights, and for the vulnerable victims suffering on death row. Even while in prison, she is busy writing letters to the government protesting against the inhumane conditions and letting her voice be heard all over the internet.

      Atena’s father was alongside her when she was sentenced in the Islamic’s court of justice. Her father Hosein wrote, “I’ll never forget when they brought Atena to court!”

      Judge Moghiseh: “Are you against execution?”

      Atena: “Yes, I am against execution."

      Judge Moghiseh: “It’s none of your business. We execute whoever we want! And those human rights people can’t stop us!”

      Atena: “One day you will answer for those innocent people you hang. And that day is coming soon!”

      Judge Moghiseh expelled Atena from the courtroom and sentenced her to 14 years in prison.

      For more than 41 years, this evil regime has terrorized and murdered its own people. Atena has refused to remain silent, trying to restore hope and freedom to her homeland. In her never-ending battle against this dictatorship, Atena has also been fighting a personal battle of her own. She has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, while also suffering with persistent dizziness and numbness in her right eye. The medical physician in Qarchak Prison requested that she be given an MRI to confirm his diagnosis and the prison officials vehemently denied his request. In addition to her recent suspected illness, Atena has also been suffering with high blood pressure, kidney stones, and gall bladder problems brought on by hunger strikes. Atena, now 31, has been behind bars since 2016, serving a seven-year prison sentence for meeting with the families of political prisoners, criticizing the Iranian regime on Facebook, and condemning the 1988 mass execution.

       Atena’s parents are deeply concerned about their daughter and have been publicly outspoken to the international communities, begging human rights defenders to be her voice. Her mother longs for the day when she can once again hug her daughter in a free Iran. Atena also longs for the day when her homeland will be free from gender apartheid and its rules, and where women will once again be respected instead of being treated like second-class citizens. Hosein Daemi knows how courageous his daughter is and that she will never give up in the fight.

    “Atena is strong and she will not give up against her oppressors!”

     Despite all of her chronic health issues, Atena continues her fight against a dictatorship government. She has not lost her hope and envisions a free Iran on the horizon.

      “These arrests, detentions, threats, and intimidations are the sacrifices we need to make to gain our freedom and rights…..We should never stop resisting or standing up against oppression. No victory comes easily, and no injustice lasts forever!”

        Atena is shouting freedom while in chains. Do you hear her desperate cry? Stand with this fearless human rights defender and be her voice. Don’t take your freedoms for granted. We have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with those who suffer. It is our duty to humanity!

"Freedom without Jesus is just another wall."

      On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan gave a powerful and memorable challenge to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as he proudly stood in front of the Berlin Wall to a cheering crowd, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

      Two years later, on November 9, 1989, Reagan’s challenge became a reality! The concrete barrier of the cold war that had separated communist East Berlin from the West collapsed as thousands of people in mass droves crossed to the other side in jubilant celebration! Communism had finally collapsed and freedom had arrived. There would no longer be a death strip between the East and the West. No more machine guns, no more guard dogs. Although it would take another two full years before the complete physical demolition of the wall was complete, the celebration had begun! The death of Communism was now a reality!

      Freedom….This powerful seven-letter word has been the passionate driving force in the hearts of humanity for thousands of years and has caused the death of millions of people fleeing oppression. This seven-letter word is one of the most precious words in the English language, one of the most powerful words on the lips of those giving their lives to be free from dictatorship governments.

      Christian artist, Wayne Watson, reflecting on the historical fall of the Berlin Wall, composed a thought-provoking song on the subject of freedom, that causes us to think deeply about what true liberty really is. The chorus of the song gets right to the point about what Wayne believes true freedom really is……

        "Freedom. People cry for freedom. 
          But freedom without Jesus is just another wall.
         Oh-oh. Freedom. Give the people freedom.
          But give the people Jesus or they got nothing at all."

                                                                                                                                   

        Wayne is challenging us to think about what true freedom really is. Millions of people celebrated the destruction of a physical wall that tore down the barriers of an oppressive political philosophy that had kept them in bondage for many years. Humanity was no longer bound by the chains of a dictatorship that enslaved them to a government that ruled their lives from the cradle to the grave. Now people were finally free to believe and think for themselves. Surely this is what true freedom is all about!

        Two thousand years before the historic collapse of the Berlin Wall, another powerful and life-changing speech was given to a mass of people. Jesus stood before his disciples and a crowd of religious leaders and made an astounding proclamation. He declared:

                      “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”

       Jesus also taught about freedom and the impact it would have on our lives. However, we need to look closely at the kind of freedom that he was speaking about.

       Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

                      “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves of anyone. What do you mean, “You will be set free?”

                      Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

      Notice carefully, the reaction of the religious leaders. In Jewish heritage, being a part of the great patriarchal family of Abraham conferred a very special status on an individual. The religious leaders were astonished at what Jesus had just told them. Being in the family of Abraham gave them great dignity and value. How can Jesus dare to question that heritage? They believed they were truly free. There was no corruption and bondage to break free from!

       However, Jesus points directly at the heart of their problem, which is also our problem. Slavery to sin. The Pharisees and the Scribes looked pure and clean on the outside. They loved to boast about their own righteousness and spirituality. In their eyes they were perfectly obedient to God’s Law and they constantly looked down on the masses of other people.

       The outward image of true freedom can be very deceptive. That image of freedom was celebrated on a fall day in November when the Berlin Wall collapsed, but as Wayne Watson aptly points out in his song, “Freedom without Jesus is just another wall.”  The physical wall has been demolished but there is another wall, the wall within our souls, that is still holding humanity in bondage. That bondage is the death grip of sin!

         The human heart is in the death grip of sin until it is set free and the chains are broken by the power of Christ. Physical freedom is not enough. Humanity can celebrate freedom from oppressive governments when they fall, but “Freedom without Jesus is just another wall.”  

          Jesus offers us a freedom that no government of the world can ever give us. It is a freedom that breaks the power of corruption and sin in our hearts. It is a freedom that opens our eyes to what it means to have a living and vibrant relationship with the God of the universe! It is a freedom that allows us to dream big and experience a life of true joy beyond anything we can imagine or think! As a Christian author and a human rights activist for Iranians, I have a passion to be a voice for their freedom. It is my pleasure to fight for their human rights and write books to bring awareness to the world about their plight for freedom and justice. However, I have a very important responsibility to make sure that I also persuade them of a freedom that transcends the oppression of physical governments. The Gospel is the true freedom that every Iranian needs. It is the power of the gospel that breaks the chains of sin and liberates us from the inward corruption that is keeping us in bondage.

          I will never stop speaking out for my Iranian friends. I will always email government leaders and be a voice for political prisoners on death row, demanding their freedom. All of this is good and absolutely necessary! But I must balance out my passion with the truth of God’s Word. Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

         This is the true freedom that humanity needs. We can never be truly free until the “walls of sin” are torn down in our hearts.