M ahdi Saharkhiz (on Twitter.com: http://www.twitter.com/onlymedhi) is the son of Issa Saharkhiz, who has been held under arrest by the Islamic Republic of Iran since around the time of the rigged presidential election in Iran on June 12.
For weeks, Mahdi has been informing the world about his father’s arrest. Three days ago, at the start of a hunger strike in protest against the actions of the regime in Iran since the rigged elections took place, he gave the following speech in front of the United Nations building in New York:
Today at 4PM Tehran Standard Time, my father made contact with home and in a short conversation with my mom informed us that during his arrest few of his ribs were broken and now he’s in solitary prison under the watch of doctors. My father also wanted us not to be waiting for his release because he will remain in prison for a long time. If there is a lawyer present amongst you or if you know a Patriot Iranian lawyer, I beg of you to ask them to complain against Nokia since it was because of its products that the political activists and journalists were arrested.
Today is the second day that we have gathered here together, but it’s been 40 days since our votes were stolen. 38 days ago one of my closest friends, Mohammad Reza Jala’ii Pour, was arrested at the airport. Tehran-London flights have been taking place without delay but his freedom and release is still being delayed. Today, only 7 days remain to Neda’s 40th day of death but we still can hear her chants for freedom.
It’s been 9 days since Sohrab’s funeral but with how much difficulty was his body taken from these liars who were telling her mother for 26 days that he was in Evin Prison, while they had already killed him. But the tyrants should know that Sohrab will always be eternal and timeless to us! Today we still don’t know the name of that young 12-year-old martyr, he’s another “dirt and dust” to the oppressors but to each and every one of us Iranians he’s a brother or a son who’s been killed without a crime, an innocent.
Today the name of each person written behind me in red, will remain in our memories. Today green-wearers have put their lives before these names in green, so that we could live one day with freedom and in a country with an honest leader. I hope one day we can all celebrate our victory in a free Iran.
I don’t know how many days has passed since my father’s arrest, but each day I hear the sound of freedom more and more from within the people. Today “I” doesn’t have a meaning alone, today “you” is directed toward the dictators. Today we are all together and the world is watching us.
Yesterday, on the Day of Global Action for Iran, he gave the following speech:
Mahdi Saharkhiz:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIOt6IU_fUs& 285 234]
