British-Iranians write to Starmer

 

Iranian British friend sent me this letter tonight:

For immediate release

Prominent British-Iranians write to Starmer urging him not to join war

Signatories include Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Aras Amiri and Nasrin Parvaz,  all former detainees in the notorious political prison of Evin

A letter signed by over 100 prominent British-Iranians is being sent today to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging him not to join in the Israeli and US attack on Iran.

All the signatories are opposed to the Iranian regime and several have spent time in political prisons in the country.

However their fear is that bombing Iran will not only kill innocent lives but will entrench the regime. The signatories say:

“Nobody can claim to want the end of the Islamic Republic more than we do. But attacking the country in this way will have the opposite effect. It will entrench the authoritarians and give life to the fiction that has sustained them internally for decades: that they are fighting western imperialism.”

They are highly critical of Israel’s assassination policy, despite being opponents of Iran’s authoritarians:

“When Netanyahu - a man charged with international war crimes after killing countless civilians in Gaza - assassinates Iran’s dictator that kills the man but immortalises the myth. Iranians wanted him tried and punished for his crimes, not given the martyr ending he craved.”

Signatories urge Britain and other countries to protect political prisoners in Iran’s jails from attack:

“A pro-democracy policy would protect political prisoners and ensure that Israel and the US do not bomb prisons like Evin. It is in those cells where the future democratic leaders of Iran reside.”

Signatories include Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Aras Amiri and Nasrin Parvaz all former detainees from Evin, Iran’s notorious political prison.

Amiri, a writer and art producer who spent over 3 years as a political prisoner in Evin prison in Tehran said:

“The US and Israel have no right to attack another country, their impunity is enraging. We will not allow our rightful struggle for freedom to be used to justify another war. No war brings freedom—only destruction, suffering, and the loss of our shared humanity.”

Other prominent British-Iranians include comedian and Shaparak Khorsandi and author Kamin Mohammadi. 

A full list of signatories is available at togetherforiran.org

ENDS