Freedom Of Speech - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

Recently, 227 out of 290 members of Iran parliament voted to execute those who were arrested in the past 8 weeks of uprising. According to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the number of arrested protesters are more than 14,000 people. Islamic republic has a long history of mass murders. In the 1988 massacres of political prisoners, more than 30,000 people were executed. In 2019 protests, the government killed more than 1,500 protesters during the internet shutdown. They never stop their criminal ways because blood and bone is the foundation of their reign.

These people, who have the dream of freedom in mind, are going to be sentenced to death if international human rights organizations don't do something about it. We're not talking about nameless faceless people. These 14,000 lives have friends and families, pets and lovers. Let's get to know some of them:

This is Hossein Ronaghi. He is an iranian blogger and human rights activist. He's also a computer programmer and one of his activism areas is internet restrictions and how to go around them. He has a long history of political activities and since 2009 protests, he has been a political prisoner on and off. During current protests, he was called to turn himself into Evin prison or his family will be in danger, so he did that. But even though he was there voluntarily, security forces violently attacked him and beat him. Currently he's in prison with broken legs and no medical attention and a 46-day-long hunger strike. His life is in danger.

These are Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, the two journalists who covered Mahsa Amini's murder news. This is not the first time the government arrest and punish someone who spread a crime news instead of arresting those who committed said crime. Media freedom is a joke in Iran and those who speak the truth get silenced. A while ago in an interview with Shargh daily, the newspaper Niloofar works for, she addressed sexism in her field of occupation and explained: "sometimes a female journalist would think with herself maybe I should just give up this job, this job has many safety issues and the salary isn't good at all. but most of them stay. Women journalists never give up."

This is Fatemeh Sepehri, a political activist. She oppose Khamenei leadership and demands a democratic future for iran. She's a mother who lost her child custody to sexism. Her husband was a martyr of Iran-Iraq war. Her brother is also a political prisoner. She was kidnapped at the beginning of current protests and is being kept in solitary confinement.

This is Leyla Hosseinzade, former Tehran university student. She didn't believe in hijab and still doesn't. She refuse to wear hijab while in jail and that put her in a dangerous situation with security guards. She's currently on a hunger strike.

This is Faezeh Barahui, a young Baluchi girl who was arrested during protests in Zahedan, has been in prison for weeks.

This is Fetemeh Mashhadi Abbas, a professor in Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences. She was kidnapped and is now being kept in Evin prison.

This is Toomaj Salehi, Iranian rapper who's songs are mostly protest songs aimed at the regime. He was brutally arrested and is under heavy torture at the moment.

This is Nazila Maroufian, a journalist who's in Evin prison because she interviewed with Mahsa Amini's father.

This is Marzieh Ziari, a women's rights activist in iran who was arrested and her current condition is unknown.

There are many many many more people. This is just a thin list of more known ones. According to HRANA, among all these arrested citizens, 1,941 of them have been identified and their arrests have become publicly known, 438 of them are university students. Children are among prisoners too but their number has not been reported. The wellbeing or placement of some prisoners are not known and that causes a lot of concerns.

Well, this blog might not get very far. 

According to recent news, Net Neutrality, the set of rules that protect our Internet rights and freedoms, is on the line. The principle that enables online freedom to publish, access, and receive any content you wish might be impacted on December 14th, 2017. If Congress votes to change the bill, millions of Americans’ safety, First Amendment rights, and access to information would be affected. 

Almost since President Trump took office, his FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been pushing for Net Neutrality to be reconsidered on Capital Hill. Millions of Americans have spoken up, on social media and directly to our government officials, requesting that the bill stay the same. Pay has ignored these messages and insists that Net Neutrality limits innovation and economic growth. But what he’d really be doing, if he manages to get the bill off the board, would be clearing away regulations that prevent telecom giants, like Verizon or Comcast, from controlling what content users obtain. Right now, companies can’t pick what websites and services get to us faster, for censorship or economic reasons. They aren’t allowed to slow down or speed up their own content or sites to stifle a competitor. The general fear, and the reason for Net Neutrality, is that if they could, they would. Booming businesses could profit off of the violation of our constitutional rights, if Ajit Pai’s mission succeeds.   

You can say and view and do whatever you want online. All the information and opportunity on the planet is at your fingertips, because of Net Neutrality. Heck, while writing this I had to research the details of what’s actually been going down lately. How? Net Neutrality. Social media, websites, applications, databases - so much would be effected, and not for the better. A lot of people who use the Internet to make a change, marginalized communities standing up for their rights, all these people could be silenced. For money. 

We owe it to Net Neutrality, the result of millions of activists in 2015, that America is as safe, informed, and free as it is now. Hey, it’s the reason I’m able to run this blog - using my voice to talk about what I believe in, which not everyone out there can do.   

There’s still time. In just days, on December 14, the bill will be voted on. Send this to friends, contact government officials and politicians, take action now. While it isn’t too late.

Freedom of Speech

acrylic on canvas, 20. Feb 2024

art by op