An open letter to Iran’s political prisoners, trapped ‘between two blades of a scissors’

On August 19th, we commemorate the anniversary of the 1953 coup orchestrated by the UK and US that overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. This letter of solidarity seeks to shine a light on the plight of Iran's political prisoners, who find themselves caught between the clutches of the Islamic Republic and the imperialist forces it claims to oppose.

The Islamic Republic, since its inception, has enforced a rigid social and political control based on an ideology that excludes the masses. It is a system that, ironically, mirrors the very oppression it claims to counter: domination and torture. On the other side, the Islamic Republic faces the aggression of imperialist powers, notably the US and Israel, who claim to stand against tyranny while engaging in brutal wars and targeting civilian infrastructure.

We recall the horrific events of June 23rd, 2025, when Israel struck the Evin prison complex, destroying its hospital and transgender section. This attack starkly illustrates the dual oppression we face - the regime that imprisons and tortures us, and the foreign force dropping bombs on our heads in the name of freedom.

In the past year, we have witnessed the sharpening of these two blows. Arbitrary arrests and a surge in executions have become commonplace. We see the criminalization of the working class and unemployed, the targeting of Kurds, Arabs, and Baloch, and the scapegoating of Afghan migrants. These are all desperate attempts to quell the spirit of people they cannot contain.

We see the same logic of domination in Israel's use of "administrative detention" to hold Palestinian political prisoners without charge. This mirrors the US's own history of imprisoning freedom fighters, particularly those from Black, Indigenous, and other anticolonial backgrounds, locking them away for decades to crush movements for national liberation and sovereignty. The connections between these carceral systems, from intelligence sharing to blueprint prisons, are disturbingly clear.

Despite these challenges, our struggle is global. We stand in solidarity with the incarcerated kin fighting for our collective liberation. We invite global civil society and anti-imperialist activists to extend their unconditional support and solidarity. We urge the Iranian authorities to stop their inhumane practice of death and incarceration, and the US and Israel to end their barbaric wars and brutal sanctions.