heartfelt message by Warisha on Shirin Alam Holi’s execution anniversary

Marking the 15th anniversary of the execution of Kurdish activist Shirin Alam Holi and several of her comrades, feminist activist and death row political prisoner Warisha Moradi sent a moving message from inside Evin Prison. She reaffirmed the continuity of the struggle for freedom despite chains and gallows.

Warisha Moradi wrote: "I have not seen you with my eyes, but with my soul, in the tears of children whose fathers never returned from the mountains, in the silent screams of mothers whose words were deemed a crime."

In her letter, Moradi spoke of the martyr Farzad Kamangar, describing him as “not just a name, but a path of existence and a guiding light in the darkness.” She added: "Those who raised gallows for you did not understand that a noose cannot break the will of one who stands on the horizon… Farzad began at the moment of his silence, and in death, he was born."

In a message imbued with deep humanity, she affirmed that the struggle continues despite the chains, saying: "Our hands may be bound, but our voices are louder than ever… With every wound, we create meaning, and with every suffocation, we breathe a new breath of freedom."

The message also touched on Shirin Alam Holi, who was executed on May 9, 2010, along with her comrades Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, and Mehdi Eslamian, accused of belonging to the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) and engaging in armed activity against the Iranian regime.

Speaking of Shirin, Moradi said: "Her love for life, her mother tongue, and her quest for freedom were her crimes… She was hanged, but she carved her name into the mountains and left her mark in the wind and in words."

She added that Shirin’s words, “Woman, Life, Freedom”, which she had written on the walls of her cell, have become a slogan that speaks for the hearts of women that beat for freedom. "We were not created to run but to stand firm… This path is one of ascent, until the final word, the final child, and the final mountain standing tall like the Zagros."

Warisha Moradi ended her letter with a pledge to continue resisting, no matter the cost: "If death is the price for holding onto truth, then I am ready to pay it… Chains will not break us; they are roots that anchor our existence deep in the soil, where truth blooms endlessly."

Activist Warisha Moradi was arrested in the city of Sana, East Kurdistan, on August 1, 2023. After two weeks of interrogation by the intelligence division, she was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. During this time, she was subjected to pressure and torture to force a confession. After five months, she was moved to the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran, where she now faces a death sentence.

A-H

ANHA