The Political Prisoner

A political prisoner is someone who is arrested and imprisoned for violating the legal limits set for political freedoms.

In societies where political liberty rules are respected, the number of political prisoners is usually low or very low. However, in dictatorial governments, due to limited and/or inadequate political freedoms for certain groups and individuals – although there are laws and regulations for them – the number of political prisoners is high because the  struggle for freedom and social rights in these societies is always ongoing.

The first and second Pahlavi periods are an example of dictatorial regimes and the abundance of political prisoners. Many were arrested and imprisoned for criticizing the socio-political situation.

It is not clear exactly when and by whom the term political prisoner was used in Iran, but we know that the term became widely used in 1971s in the when the repression of individuals and political groups peaked and prisons were filled with freedom fighters. In the official literature of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s era, especially in the terms and expressions used by SAVAK, they were referred to as anti-security prisoner. They didn’t believe that the term political prisoner should be used since they work against the security of the country. For example, when Jafar Sharif-Imami became prime minister in 1978, he used the term "political prisoners" in the National Assembly. In a report to the Shah, SAVAK wrote that it is dangerous for the prime minister to make use of this term.

Political Prisoners and Martyrs’ Families

Although some political prisoners endangered the security of the Shah’s rule, the number of such prisoners was very low compared to others. Their movements were suspicious, they were affiliated with political and militant groups, chanted slogans against the Shah, they had broken the windows of the university dining hall and lectured - albeit indirectly - against the government, or possessed images such as Imam Khomeyni’s photos; these were all considered crimes against the country’s security.

Due to reports by political activists of extrajudicial arrests as well as imprisonment and torture of persons abroad, international communities, especially since early 1977, became sensitive to the issue of Iranian political prisoners and they took action. Consequently, after the presidency of Jimmy Carter in the United States, which emerged with slogans promoting and enforcing human rights, the Shah, who was dependent on US policies, was forced to respond positively to some of these demands. He was forced to reduce torture and grant various organizations, including Amnesty International and the Red Cross, permission to visit the country’s prisons. The United States wanted to reform Iran through preserving the monarchical system and the Shah himself. It was during this period that the Committee to Defend Iranian Political Prisoners was formed and activities beneficial to political prisoners were secretly carried out. Since the establishment of the committee late in 1977, the Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners secretly released and distributed eight statements regarding political prisoners in Iran. Thus, informing the public of news from inside Iranian prisons. In the first issue of the journal, a statement by the French Committee for the Defense of Iranian Political Prisoners headed by Jean-Paul Sartre was published. Prior to that, however, the Iranian community which was defending freedom and human rights - which was established during the period of suppression and repression in early 1977s - had taken steps to support or release political prisoners, often in correspondence with international organizations. Following the testimony of Sayyed Mostafa Khomeyni on 23 October 1977, and the subsequent political speeches in his termination parliaments and the widespread demonstrations that took place on this occasion, the release of political prisoners was raised between speeches and slogans. Specifically, in Resolution 13 of the article which was read at a ceremony commemorating the death of Ayatollah Sayyed Mostafa Khomeyni on the 40^th day after his assassination in the Aʿẓam mosque of Qom, the first clause called for the return of Imam Khomeyni to his homeland, and in the second clause, the release of political prisoners. However, there was no effective government response regarding political prisoners. As the demonstration intensified, especially in the summer of 1978, which coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, the Shah released 62 political prisoners on the occasion of the anniversary of the 19 August 1953 coup, which he called National Day. In the second half of 1978, popular protests reached to the point that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced to order the release of political prisoners in early November, although he used his birthday (26 October) as an excuse to do so. Among those released in November was Sheikh Mohammed Jafari, a hawzah student from Mashhad who was imprisoned eight days after his marriage on charges of distributing a declaration for four years and Safar Ghahremanian, who was imprisoned in the sedition of Azerbaijan and then released after thirty years in prison. In addition to Tehran, the release of political prisoners took place in cities such as Shiraz, Urmia and Rasht. Political prisoners were especially welcomed, particularly in small towns. The next wave of freedoms took place on 19 November 1978, which coincided with Eid al-Ghadir khom; four political prisoners were released. This process continued until the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Due to dictatorship and the suppression of freedoms, various inconsistent numbers have been declared regarding the amount of political prisoners in Iran. For example, the Confederation of Iranian Students Abroad had announced the number of political prisoners in Iran to be 25000 whereas the number in their publication was sometimes up to 100,000. Amnesty International believed Iran had 20,000 political prisoners in 1977 and thus ranked third in the world. However, the Shah had declared the number of political prisoners nearly 3,000. One political prisoner named Sayyed Mohammad Kazem Bojnourdi believes that the number of political prisoners across the country did not exceed 10,000. However, there are no statistics that can officially say how many Iranians were arrested and imprisoned for political reasons during the Pahlavi era (from 1925 to 1978).

The presence of the family of political prisoners in the office of the Ettelaat Newspaper on January 1979

In 1999, twenty years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a group of jailed and tortured fighters formed the Muslim Political Prisoners’ Association and began recruiting. In the same year, an Article was adopted by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, according to which all those who had been detained for at least six months for religious, security and political activities between 19 August 1953 to 5 February 1979 were to be considered freedmen that can make use of the facilities in accordance to the law which pertains to freedmen.

Martyrs one who suffers for the sake of principle More (Definitions, Synonyms, Translation)