Defenses Abroad

In the worldview of totalitarian and single-party regimes, there is no room for a nation to demand their rights or seek justice. The Islamic Republic of Iran, with its decades-long track record, has been no exception to this to this grim reality.

I, Mohammad Ali Taheri, have been among the victims of human rights violations by Iranian authorities. I spent an entire decade behind bars at the security prisons of the Islamic Republic, simply for being a teacher and raising public awareness.

I was handed two definitive death sentences, faced 17 mock executions, and was subjected to white torture, biological assassination attempts, and chemical poisonings. Some of the damage from these abuses remain with me even after my release.

Throughout the 2010s, students of Erfan Keyhani Halgheh School held repeated, peaceful demonstrations across the globe to protest my unjust imprisonment. These demonstrations took place across the globe and to make their voices heard. Inside Iran, however, these protests were met with crackdowns, and several participants were arrested.

Outside of Iran, as pressure mounted against me, a wave of support and protest began to rise within the international community. Supporters of Erfan Keyhani Halgheh in countries like Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the UK, the US, organized rallies, demonstrations, press conferences, and submitted letters to human rights bodies and the United Nations—all to drawing the world’s attention to injustice and the cries of the oppressed.