On 18 March 2025 Reza Khandan released this statement as he continues to be improperly imprisoned for supporting women's rights in Iran. Despite tremendous pressure against him and his family, he is steadfast in his beliefs. Thank you for signing and sharing the FREE REZA petition.

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Freedom of expression, freedom of belief, freedom of dress, and other such freedoms are among the most fundamental human rights that have been emphasized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For more than three months, I have been held in one of the worst general wards of Evin Prison because of "protesting against the mandatory hijab."

Although previously one could estimate the number of political prisoners, seeing so many political prisoners here with ridiculous and baseless charges was unexpected for me. I can confidently say that the public is not familiar with even ten percent of them, their arrests, or the nature of their charges. Charges such as writing a single dot in an editorial note, writing a parenthetical sentence, posting or sharing a story on social media, and so on.

They consider establishing or being a member of a news analysis group equivalent to founding or joining a major political or even guerrilla organization, and issue prison sentences accordingly.

With the arrest of these individuals, not only is their right to freedom of expression violated by various security and judicial institutions whose main job is nothing but the suppression of citizens, but during their detention they are also deprived of the basic rights specified in the government's own strict and one-sided laws.

After the arrest of political prisoners, prison administrators and the prison organization also join the vast array of repressive apparatuses.

Since my arrest, I have tried in various ways to protest against the detention and violation of prisoners' rights, but I have received no response. On the eve of the new year, I found no more effective way than to stop eating and go on strike to highlight the situation of political prisoners. I hope we can highlight the hardships that political prisoners and their families endure amid various back-breaking economic, social, climate, and environmental crises that are the result of the government's incompetence and lack of planning.

Here, I would like to remember our esteemed artist, Mehdi Yarrahi, one of these former political prisoners, whose horrific news of being tortured with a whip in recent weeks shocked and stunned all of us. He was also a victim of the violent violation of freedom of expression and was punished for "protesting against mandatory hijab" in a song titled "Take Off Your Headscarf."

"I demand the freedom of political prisoners." Just as "I protest against mandatory hijab."

Reza Khandan Evin Prison, March 2025