Invitation to Debate
Respected Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Dear Mr. Seyyed Ali Khamenei,
After greetings and regards,
It is likely that you are aware that I tasted freedom from prison again last year in Esfand [March 2019] and was sent to Balochistan to endure two years of exile.
About two months ago, during a leave from exile to visit my family, I was arrested for the fifth time for writing a new letter to the leadership, republishing previous letters, signing a statement that called for your resignation, writing a letter to the clerics warning of the dangers of cleric-killing, especially for innocent clerics, and stating that upon returning from exile, I would not make water and electricity free. I was imprisoned in the punitive ward of Kashan prison.
This place is where addicts, smugglers, murderers, and those who trade drugs in prison or disturb other inmates due to fights are kept.
A few days ago, one of my cellmates, who had gone insane due to long imprisonment, attacked another cellmate, knocked a guard down with a punch, and covered another guard’s face and nose in blood before prison special forces took care of him.
Foreseeing the danger of this cellmate, I refrained from provoking him and won his favor with kindness and gifts of chocolate.
I have many memories in this cell of the daily wails of addicts rolling on the floor in withdrawal pain, vomiting, unable to control their urine and feces, and prisoners fighting to the death—which I will try to detail for you and the dear people in the future.
Many compatriots, especially the veterans, freed war prisoners, fighters, and surviving commanders from the eight-year war, know that I end up in prison every time for criticizing and protesting you, and I have spent almost half of my imprisonment in punitive and solitary cells until now.
Mr. Khamenei, you have seen fit to punish us, but I believe God sees our actions, records them, rewards and punishes us, and we are judged by the people.
Mr. Khamenei, with these actions you take against us, people become disappointed in you and distrustful of you. It is important to know that many law enforcement officers and prison guards also express regret at this action of yours and sympathize with us in conversations. So instead of these actions and labeling us in various ways, it is better to sit down and talk with us.
Through this letter, I officially invite you to a televised debate. Perhaps accepting this proposal is difficult for you, who in your thirty-year leadership has not agreed to an interview with any journalist, but do not forget that people have great intelligence and scrutinize your behavior closely.
Mr. Khamenei, I have written in previous letters that due to the poverty, corruption, addiction, and misery currently plaguing the country, which cannot be denied or concealed, we are all to blame, and all officials are culpable according to their responsibilities. However, your responsibility is incomparable to others, and due to the vast powers you have, you must transparently accept your responsibility and be accountable for it.
I have previously written, citing numerous reasons, that lifetime leadership neither benefits you nor society, and in this televised debate, I would like to prove that the continuation of your leadership is neither legally nor religiously correct.
There, I will also strive to explain that the current Constitution, which we are all supposed to adhere to, has significant flaws and does not meet the country’s needs, and we need a new Constitution.
In the end, I remind you that while in this cell, I am prohibited from pleading. There is no news of newspapers or television here, and I am deprived of access to a lawyer. In the cell where I reside, keeping a pen and notebook is prohibited to prevent me from writing a new letter from here.
All my actions in this cell are monitored by cameras that are even installed in the toilet and bathroom. Therefore, due to obtaining a pen and writing this letter, new punishments may await me, but I accept them with all my heart in the hope of reforming and saving the country.
Mohammad Mahdavifar
Deminer and Diver of the War
Kashan Prison
17th Shahrivar 1398 [September 8, 2019]