In an open letter addressed to Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, incarcerated human rights activist and blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki beaten and rearrested while on medical furlough and volunteering to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Eastern Azerbaijan province, asks the Supreme Leader to respond to the blatant neglect of the fundamental necessities of thousands of earthquake stricken victims who continue to suffer without shelter under extreme harsh winter conditions.

The complete content of the poignant and heart felt letter written by Ronaghi Maleki from Evin Prison’s Ward 350 as provided to Kaleme is as follow:

In the name of God of life and wisdom …

…and anyone who is faithful, believes in performing good deeds and he who does not fear oppression and harm,

To the Ayatollah Khamenei,

Greetings. I Hossein Ronaghi Malek,i an incarcerated political prisoner behind bars at Evin prison’s ward 350 have decided to write you this letter for I believe that your excellency’s travels to various cities and provinces across our nation must stem from your desire to gain direct knowledge of the concerns, challenges and hardships facing our people with the intent to improve the lives of our suffering citizens. I am certain that regardless of the judgment rendered by the Islamic Republic against me and my kind, there are still a limited few within the ruling establishment that are willing to admit that those of us who have chosen to spend our youth behind bars want nothing more than to see our country progress and stand tall.

Ayatollah Khamenei,

This summer our compatriots in Azerbaijan experienced an earthquake that shattered their lives, leaving an indelible mark on their families and loved ones. The aftershocks, extremely cold weather and lack of direction and false promises by government officials only further increased the hardship endured by the victims of this severe natural disaster. The situation is so dire that even the Minister of Health and Governor of East Azerbaijan have publicly stated: “Two months after the earthquake more than 120,000 individuals effected by the earthquake are still living in temporary tents despite the extremely cold winter conditions. Many of the earthquake victims have been deprived of basic amenities such as bathrooms and heating supplies and are effected by skin conditions and infectious diseases that threaten their lives” – this while government officials continue to spend exorbitant amounts of money on provincial tours or trips with their families to attend the annual meeting of the United Nations, not to mention the money sent to Syrian, Lebanon and other countries. Have the regions effected by the earthquake indeed been rebuilt during the past two months as per the claims of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s Vice President?

Mr. Khamenei,

Was Ahmadinejad’s trip to Mecca at the time of the earthquake, along with the inexplicable indifference of the IRIB [Iran’s National Broadcasting System] that chose to treat the tragedy as an event threatening our national security, arresting a large number of rescue workers and volunteers not a blatant demonstration of the indifference shown by the authorities of the Islamic Republic vis-a-vis the Iranian nation and the earthquake stricken victims of Azerbaijan?

Does this type of behavior not explain the distancing of the public from the ruling establishment? It is only not natural that I like many of my Iranian compatriots would be pained by such irresponsible behavior; it is only natural that like my compatriots I would feel the pain of those suffering without any shelter under the extremely cold conditions in Azerbaijan? I am pained at the thought of them grappling with a myriad of diseases while facing an endless number of challenges. Are you aware of the fact that government officials who enjoy the luxury of the warmth of their homes continue to make false promises with regards to the rebuilding of the earthquake stricken regions? This while they have yet to provide most earthquake stricken victims with adequate shelter. Are you aware of the fact that a number of our Azari compatriots have lost their lives to a flood in the region, while others have been completely abandoned?

Ayatollah Khamenei,

Perhaps they have not informed your excellency of the spontaneous and unexpected and extensive presence of rescue workers and volunteers from all creeds and walks of life from the onset of the earthquake; volunteers who chose to abandon their daily lives and rolled up their sleeves, working side by side, if not harder than their official rescue worker counterparts. Unfortunately, however, rather than being appreciated, many of the volunteer forces were beaten and illegally arrested by plain clothes agents and the agents of the Tabriz Intelligence Ministry.

I believe that the Judiciary is the root cause of all these injustices, for instead of protecting and supporting the volunteer workers and their legal and humane activities, they chose to give into the influence of the security and intelligence apparatus, concocting cases against the volunteer workers without any provocation or justification what so ever that led to their eventual arrest. We cannot fathom why those who would voluntarily support earthquake stricken victims would be rewarded with prison sentences. Perhaps as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Your Excellency can provide a response to our unanswered question. Despite the events that ensued the earthquake and the hardships endured by the earthquake stricken victims, the sense of responsibility and sympathy demonstrated by all Iranians towards their compatriots in the earthquake stricken regions of Bam and Roudbar have not been forgotten and it was once again proven to all that Azerbaijan is indeed an integral part of Iran.

Mr. Khamenei,

I am one of the many volunteer workers who were beaten and arrested for extending a hand of friendship, demonstrating humanity and providing support to the helpless earthquake victims. They continuously threatened to arrest our families and loved ones. I was personally on furlough from prison and felt a humane and national duty to forgo my personal affairs such as following up on my medical treatment in order to serve my compatriots in Azerbaijan. In response to my spontaneous and humane support of the earthquake stricken victims I was forced to face the arbitrary and illegal behavior of the intelligence and security apparatus and as a result of the beatings I endured at the time of my arrest, my kidneys were extremely damaged. Would it be inappropriate of me to ask you as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, assuming that the content of my letter is true, to hold the law breaking and law evading officials who spread such lies accountable in an independent court of law? Is is inappropriate to demand that you pay more attention to the plight of the innocent victims of the earthquake in Azerbaijan who continue to suffer under harsh winter conditions? Clearly the ruling establishment must also adhere to the rule of law, for if the powers that be choose to ignore the law, denying citizens of their fundamental rights, and if citizens are subjected to injustice, their national security forsaken, the distrust and chasm between the people and the ruling establishment will only further increase – a predicament that we are all unfortunately witnessing today….

As our renowned poet Saadi once said:

Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you have no sympathy for human pain,

The name of human you cannot retain.

Respectfully,

Seyed Hossein Ronaghi Maleki

Evin Prison, Ward 350

Source: Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.org/1391/07/30/klm-117054/

Translated by banooyesabz