«The Iranian regime silences those who seek a path to peace»

«For the past months, we as Iranians have been stuck in a situation that forced us to choose between massacre and war, between two ways of being killed. As a result, no one was thinking about alternative paths out of this binary. I believe my mother was trying to challenge this binary, in the hope of encouraging others to consider different possibilities, even though we still have a long way to go». The speaker is Mehraveh Khandan, daughter of Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and activist Reza Khandan, both imprisoned for opposing the regime. Nasrin was arrested a few days ago, under circumstances still unclear: her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Do you know why your mother was really arrested, and where she is being held right now or are even those basic facts being deliberately kept from you?

Apparently she was arrested on Wednesday evening (1/4) but we realised only the day after since she was alone at home. The day after, some of our relatives noticed that she doesn’t answer phone calls and after they went to our house they figured out her absence. Also all my dad’s and her electrical devices were confiscated. On Tuesday she called for some second, telling that ministry of intelligence has arrested her, however, before she was able to give more information including where she is now, the phone calls was cut off. Until last time I could contact some family member, her name was not registered in any places that the lawyer went and checked.

Your mother publicly denounced the abandonment of Tehran under bombardment and the government’s failure to protect its own citizens. Do you believe this specific criticism triggered her arrest, or was she already being targeted and this was just the moment they chose to act? When you last spoke to her, did she expect this could happen, or did the arrest come without warning?

The last time I spoke to her, she didn’t tell me anything about her expecting any arrest. Also as long as I know she hadn’t received any threats that I know. I can imagine that her last interview that you mentioned, triggered the regime. Also we imagine that this is a new case that they open to arrest her and I see her last comments on January massacre and the war as the possible reason.

Your father is in prison for a case that had already been closed years ago. At this point, can we still talk about a legal system in Iran or is it simply power exercising itself without constraints?

My dad was arrested only for producing buttons on which it was written: “I’m against mandatory hijab.” All his case and arrest was illegal and there was no legal basis for them to arrest him. But even further than that, his case was declared closed when he was arrested. So that was a gesture of regime for showing his power behind the law.

How do you practice activism in a system where laws can be rewritten or ignored at any moment?

Well, my mother is a lawyer and throughout years I witnessed how she tried to force the system not to violate the law stablished by themselves. I think this happens case by case and of course it’s different from occasion to occasion. There were situations that she had to go on a hunger strike and there were situations that she had to sit in front of lawyers association to get her license back and in many cases she was successful. I do believe that this kind of action, which we categorise all of them as non violent activism, needs some sense of assessment of situations but also some creativity. This is exactly what we saw during “woman, life, freedom” and unfortunately we are feeling the lack of it right now with the war overshadowing human rights activism.

Do you think the current war is being used as a strategic distraction, allowing the regime to silence dissent while the world is focused elsewhere?

Absolutely! And this is not the first time that Iranian regime uses outsider threats to silence the opposition. This is what happened a decade after the revolution when they executed thousands of prisoners while the Iran-Iraq war was going on. I would also want to add that war doesn’t only work as distraction from human rights situations but it also help the regime’s accretion and legitimacy within some part of them that could possibly be more moderate since repulsing of the foreign powers is in priority now.

Your mother made a clear distinction between a UN-led humanitarian intervention and military action by the U.S. and Israel. In today’s geopolitical reality, do you think that distinction is still meaningful — or has it become impossible to separate human rights from power politics?

Yes, you are right—she did make a clear distinction between UN-led humanitarian aid and a US–Israeli attack. I understand how this could be confusing for people, since the current context and reality are very different. I did not have much opportunity to discuss this with her due to internet blackouts, but based on what I know about her, I believe she sees the role of activists as opening doors that are often ignored. For the past months, we as Iranians have been stuck in a situation that forced us to choose between massacre and war—between two ways of being killed. As a result, no one was thinking about alternative paths out of this binary. I believe my mother was trying to challenge this binary, in the hope of encouraging others to consider different possibilities, even though we still have a long way to go.

What do you actually expect from the international community right now — beyond statements and symbolic support?

One thing that is clear is that this war must end. It destroys every single aspect of iranian’s lives and it deeply contradicts human rights activism. And it severs the regime to normalise death and justifies their actions for part of their supporters or even those who are not supporters but out of despair decided to keep solidarity with this regime. So I urgently ask those ones who are concerned about human rights in Iran to call for the end of this war. Only after that we can focus on concrete assertive actions against the regime.

Your mother was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence, not the morality police. Does this mean that human rights defenders are now being treated as national security threats or enemies of the state?

it’s not the first time she is arrested by ministry of intelligence, her first and second arrest was also by the same organisation. I don’t know if they genuinely view some activists like my mother as a threat for national security but I can see that they view them as a threat towards the regime. This is different than national security.

What message does that send to those who are still speaking out inside Iran?

I think they are trying to threaten everyone who is trying to speak out against the suppression. There was a time when iranian regime tried to maintain a facade of democracy but now the strategy has changed to silencing anyone who might criticise their actions with the maximum horror and punishment.

Your mother has said that state violence comes from fear, fear of people claiming dignity. From what you see, is that fear growing stronger or is it starting to break? Is the war weakening the protest movement or do you think it could radicalize it even further?

In my opinion, wars in general, and this war especially, might frighten the regime but that’s not equal of weakening them. In fact, as I said it can be a good opportunity to revengefully silence any voice inside the country. I also want to add that Iranian regime’s range is extremely overweight his rationality and therefore I can see how they started to get this war’s revenge from his own people since they were not able to attack back equally.

You’ve lived for years under pressure, arrests, and threats. Have you ever wanted your parents to just leave Iran and be safe? And just as directly: Do you think they ever would?

Since I was a kid and my mom was arrested for the first time, I never wished that she stops her activism because I believed in her actions and I could see how her career was beneficial to the society. Later on, it was the same for me when my father was arrested. However, the first time that I wished them to stop their activities was during the war in June. When Evin prison was attacked. I found all those prisoners including my father in an extremely dangerous vulnerable situation; being trapped between two murders. The criteria that made it so different was the feeling of desperation and passiveness that I never felt throughout the years of their activities. My father made the buttons knowing that he might be arrested and sentenced for some years and calculated that it worths the result but he couldn’t predict the war and finally they found themselves in a devastating situation. That was the first time I was not sure if it worth it… I can’t say if they would or not but I know that this war has already made so many activists to give up…

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