نامۀ سرگشاده رضا پهلوی به بان کی مون، دبیر کل سازمان ملل متحد 

An open letter to His Excellency Ban Ki moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations

Your Excellency:

I am writing this letter to bring to your Excellency’s attention the continued and flagrant violations of the basic rights and freedoms of the Iranian people by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I assure you that in doing so I am carrying the voice of millions of my compatriots who, at the risk to their life and liberty, continue to condemn these horrendous acts committed by the most brutal regime in the long annals of Iran’s long history.

In a new wave of officially sanctioned violence across Iran, both within and without prisons, scores of journalists, human rights advocates and university students have lost their lives. Among the latest victims have been Haleh Sahabi, who was attacked, while attending her father’s funeral services, by the regime’s security agents and Hoda Saber who died in prison while in hunger strike protesting the murder of Ms Sahabi. At the writing of this letter, untold number of political prisoners in Tehran have gone on hunger strike to protest and condemn, once again, the regime’s unconscionable and pervasive suppression of all peaceful expressions of dissent by the most vile and violent means. 

Your Excellency,

I would like to urge you, as the most prominent representative of the community of nations, to become the voice of my suffering and suppressed compatriots. I beseech you to embody one of the highest purposes of the organization you represent - spelled clearly in Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the Charter- by publically calling on the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.” Your call will, in all likelihood, be totally ignored or rebuffed by the violence prone leaders of the regime. But it will be heard by all who yearn for the right to live in peace and freedom, particularly by the Iranian people who struggled for and gained their rights more than a century ago, sooner than any other people in the Middle East. However, continuous and increasingly violent breaches of these fundamental human rights have clearly been the primary objective of the Islamic regime since its establishment 32 years ago. These breaches highlight and confirm the regime’s utter disregard of all its obligations under various international conventions and treaties on civil and political rights.

I express my compatriots’ most fervent wish by impressing upon your Excellency the urgency of your swift and explicit call on the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran to free forthwith all political prisoners in the country and to stop violations of human rights enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and explicitly enumerated in so many binding international instruments.

Looking forward to hearing your Excellency’s favorable attention to this letter,

Sincerely,

Reza Pahlavi