Mothers of a number of political prisoners write an open letter

Recently mothers of 18 political ptisoners who have been detained after the presidential elections and are kept without charge or access to lawyers have written an open letter, indicating the pain and suffering of a mother when her child is imprisoned for expressing her/his views, tortured and threatened harsher punishment in case he/she does not 'confess'.

Recently mother of Shiva Nazar-ahari, a young woman who was member of a human rights group spoke of her horror at the conditions her daughter is being kept. Shiva was detained on the day Ayatollah Montazeri passed away. She and a number of other civil rights campaigners were riding a bus to go to Ghom to attend the funeral and were detained as the bus was about to move. Koohyar Goodarzi was detained along with Shiva. Both are kept at the notorious Evin prison under unbearable conditions. Shiva has been kept in solitory since her detention. In her latest visit she told her mother that she has been removed to a cell which is like grave, so small that she can barely stretch her legs. Earlier in the year another ptisoner, Emad-aldin Baghi said he has been kept in similar conditions. Kept in a small confinement similar to being buried alive!

Imagine! How brave you must have been not to go insane. This is what the Iranian government is doing to Iran's best brains. Shiva's crime was her defence of human rights and human dignity. How inhumanly she is being treated?.

Mothers of the 18 prisoners who have written the letter speak of the pain they feel knowing that their children are treated for the crimes they have not committed. How inhuman are those who know very well that these children have not committed any crime and yet treat them worse than criminals for speaking out.