Iranian activist Mehdi Mahmoudian was freed, then got here conflict : NPR

Iranian political and human rights activist Mehdi Mahmoudian has been out and in of his nation’s prisons over many years for daring to dissent.

On February 17, he was launched from his newest stint. He had been arrested for being amongst 17 political activists, artists and human rights attorneys who signed an open letter blaming then Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei for the killing of 1000’s of anti-government protesters.

Eleven days after Mahmoudian’s launch from the Nowshahr jail, the U.S. and Israel launched a conflict on Iran. Khamenei was killed on the primary day, however the battle is widening.

Iran is retaliating in opposition to its Gulf neighbors, key U.S. ally Azerbaijan says it was hit by Iranian drones, Israel is hanging Iran-back Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and European international locations are speeding to deploy army property to the area.

“Sadly, I do not see a brilliant future,” Mahmoudian instructed Morning Version host Leila Fadel. “If we can not break this cycle of violence, it’s going to go on perpetually.”

Mahmoudian can be the co-writer — alongside director Jafar Panahi — of It Was Simply an Accident, a contender for finest worldwide characteristic movie and finest authentic screenplay on the Oscars on March 15. He shared with NPR his ideas on this precarious chapter of Iran’s historical past.

The next change has been edited for size and readability.

Leila Fadel: You are in Tehran proper now. Are you able to inform me what it is like the place you might be?

Mehdi Mahmoudian: I’m within the middle of Tehran. The dimensions of shelling right here has change into much less intense since final evening. Proper now, they’re attacking the east facet of Tehran. Within the central areas, it’s quieter in comparison with yesterday.

Fadel: What’s it prefer to need to be residing via this proper now?

Mahmoudian: There may be virtually nothing stunning a few conflict. However this conflict additionally introduced us some happiness — the demise of somebody who, for years, took the Iranian folks hostage. It is a conflict the place we’re watching individuals who have been strolling beside us yesterday, who’re gone at this time.

Fadel: I simply wish to ask about that individual individual, Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While you heard he’d been killed, you had been jailed over blaming the supreme chief for the killing of protesters. What went via your head?

Mahmoudian: I had two emotions concerning the demise of Mr. Khamenei. One was happiness due to the demise of a dictator. The opposite is my sorrow for the way in which he died. Mr. Khamenei should not have died, he ought to have been prosecuted in a court docket, so nobody else dares to reestablish tyranny. Mr. Khamenei was killed by individuals who, in 1953, toppled a beloved authorities in Iran and changed it with a dictatorship. They put in a dictator who, for the following 25 years, managed the future of our folks. And I’m anxious that this time america will change one dictator with one other to rule Iran.

Fadel: You are referring to when the U.S. intervened within the fifties. You are anxious that the U.S. will then as soon as once more simply put a U.S.-aligned dictator?

Mahmoudian: Sure, I’m anxious. Just lately, what the U.S. did in Afghanistan was the identical. After 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, the U.S. left the nation and its folks within the arms of dictators and tyrants like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Fadel: While you say you had these two emotions concerning the killing of the supreme chief, happiness as a result of he is a dictator, he’s answerable for the killing of Iranians, for the repression of Iranians. However you additionally needed him to face his accusers. Is it about him having to face the those who he damage and killed? Is it about having the world see that justice was served right here?

Mahmoudian: Here’s what is essential to me: I do not desire a repeat of the previous. And what’s clear right here is that Mr. Khamenei is the primary individual answerable for latest crimes in Iran. We imagine that whether or not he’s useless or alive, if the buildings he constructed don’t finish or if the one who replaces him is a tyrant who desires to rule alone, the result would be the similar.

Fadel: What do you wish to see occur in Iran at this second?

Mahmoudian: Our hope is that the Islamic Republic will relinquish energy and switch it to the folks. These opposing the Islamic regime inside the nation ought to rise to energy, and thru a referendum, we must always determine what sort of folks we would like. This manner, we are able to set up a democratic regime in Iran. That is what we have fought for over the many years.

Fadel: When you consider the long run now, is it potential to interrupt that cycle? I imply, usually folks take vengeance once they see any person who has damage them, who has killed their household, who has tortured them. And we have seen that cycle in Syria, in Iraq and different locations the place dictatorships have been in place after which changed. Can or not it’s totally different for Iran?

Mahmoudian: Sadly, I do not see a brilliant future. I can not say that the folks of Iran wish to or have already reached the purpose the place they’re searching for justice as an alternative of revenge. I wish to emphasize that I am not speaking about forgiveness. I am speaking about justice. My level is, if we can not break this cycle of violence, it’s going to go on perpetually. Within the 1979 revolution, we noticed many individuals executed, and now many individuals wish to get their revenge. In all probability those that are executed at this time have individuals who will wish to search revenge sooner or later. What can break this cycle of revenge as justice? If we cease and abolish the establishments answerable for previous violence and those that dedicated these crimes are punished. However authorized punishments should align with human rights legal guidelines.

Fadel: Simply to make clear, while you say justice, you need them to be going to court docket, being tried below worldwide humanitarian regulation? And what establishments have to be destroyed in order that systemic repression can cease?

Mahmoudian: In Iran, our first step ought to be transitioning away from the Islamic Republic. What we have to see is that as an alternative of revenge, there ought to be truthful trials in Iran or at worldwide establishments. Nevertheless, I ought to emphasize that torturing and hurting residents is justified inside the construction of the Islamic Republic, and that is an apparent violation of human rights that we are able to handle as soon as we transition from the Islamic Republic.

The printed model of this story was produced by Lindsay Totty and Milton Guevara. Reena Advani and Olivia Hampton edited.