Burn the Cage/Free the Birds movement in Europe recently posted on their social media:

Some of the most heroic people are in Iran’s prison because of their love of the people and their hatred of oppression. They are harbingers of a different future. But right now, the lives of these “best of the best” are in imminent danger. We need to free them before it’s too late. By any political and social means you have, express your rage and opposition to this injustice.

Some of the heroic political prisoners we have come to know in recent years via the internet—Nahid Taghavi, Narges Mohammadi and Toomaj Salehi—or Mehran Raouf, Sepideh Gholian, Golrokh Iraee and so many others. We only know because of the struggle waged by them, their families and supporters. Yet there are thousands upon thousands, including those arrested during the Mahsa Jina Amini uprising—whose names we do not even know—some who were executed already or facing being executed. There are many whose lives and names are still hidden from us by the fascist theocrats of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). These are precious lives of Iranian sisters and brothers whose righteous resistance inspired the world but now need our support to defeat the IRI’s brutal repression against them.

The IEC is calling on you to join internationalist solidarity actions to demand that the IRI free ALL Iran’s political prisoners NOW—and highlight the urgent situation of Toomaj Salehi and Nahid Taghavi. We will be joining with others around the world on June 17-22 for global days to support Iran’s political prisoners including actions called by the Campaign to Free Iran’s Political Prisoners in Europe and Canada.

Burn the Cage/Free the Birds movement will hold an exciting concert in Berlin on July 1 that we urge all our friends everywhere in Europe to attend, and send messages of support (please copy to IEC email).

There are other events being called in June by the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (https://cfppi.org/).

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People Globally Must Act in Our Common Interest

This is a special moment for people worldwide to act in our common interests and join together to free Iran’s political prisoners. All those who were inspired by the recent (“Women/Life/Freedom”) uprising in Iran and horrified by the IRI’s brutal repression need to act now. This is in opposition to the powers-that-be acting in their own interests by legitimizing the IRI with negotiations, contracts and official positions (e.g., the United Nations, United States, Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua). Those living in the U.S. have a special responsibility and opportunity.

On May 31, the New York Times carried an op-ed about rebel Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi who has been held and tortured in solitary since October 30, 2022. On June 9, human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was profiled in an article on the front page of the New York Times that reached millions. It spoke of her heroism and the sacrifice for her unwavering resistance, including not seeing her twins for the past eight years and not even hearing their voices on the phone for over a year. She languishes in Tehran’s Evin prison while her husband and children await her in France.

Yet on June 10, Narges issued a letter from prison calling urgent attention to the dire medical situation of her beloved cell mate, Nahid Taghavi. Please read the IEC press release here. This situation compelled world renowned author and signer of IEC’s Emergency Appeal, Ariel Dorfman, to issue a statement calling on others to join the global outcry to impact a positive outcome for Nahid Taghavi’s medical furlough.

The IEC calls on everyone to demand of Iran’s theocratic regime: Free All Political Prisoners! Free Toomaj! Free Nahid! Free Narges! We say to the U.S. government: No threats or war moves against Iran, lift the U.S. sanctions. The spirit that must infuse our action is that the struggle of the people in Iran is our struggle. They are our people.

As Ariel Dorfman so insightfully said when the IEC initiated this campaign more than two years ago:

I am convinced – from personal experience – that the prisoners themselves are given strength to survive and persevere, they are listening. They know others, faraway, care what happens to them, and we should not let them down.

We must not let them down!

Stay tuned for details of a program with Nasser Mohajer, renowned author of “Voices of a Massacre: Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988” at Revolution Books Berkeley, co-sponsored by the IEC.