Published on Instagram January, 2022. The following is translation by IEC volunteers; translator additions are in curly brackets.

First of all, let me make it clear that as a freedom-loving person and a political prisoner, I am against any form of repression, imprisonment, solitary confinement, execution and torture. I believe that no one should be persecuted or imprisoned for their political or ideological views. For this reason, I am defending and will defend the rights of all prisoners, regardless of their political opinion or orientation. I believe that there should be a healthy and free atmosphere for debate between different political and ideological orientations/persuasions.

It is important to share some of my experiences and observations regarding certain particular political tendencies and behavior here.

Before being imprisoned, I had no direct contact with "royalists" except in social media and images broadcasted virtual media channels. I had seen their violent, abusive and obscene interactions with their opponents. I thought that those behaviors were only on social media and the internet.

Now that I am in prison, I am forced, and with great regret, to spend my imprisonment with Reza Pahlavi's supporters and their monarchist attitude and views. It doesn't matter if they call themselves "royalists", "constitutionalists" or any other name. What is important is the nature and content of their thoughts and viewpoints.

With great certainty I could say that some of them are among the most immoral, unprincipled and uneducated {ignorant} people, present in the women's political ward of Evin prison. One of the rules of the women's section/ward is that it is forbidden to insult and humiliate the political orientation and opinions of others. But this law has been violated time and time again by these people. They easily attack the intellectual orientation and identity of others with rude and insulting nasty words. It might not be bad to mention a few examples of here:

Pahlavi supporters believe that all those who fought during Pahlavi's era and were political activists (regardless of their {political} orientation) were terrorists and murderers, and they constantly use these {exact} words. Were- (Marzieh Ahmadi Eskoui, Mehrnoosh Ebrahimi, Masoume Tawafchian, Khosro Golsarkhi, Karamat Daneshian, Saeed Sultanpour, etc.,{these are ex-prisoners under the Shah, and most were executed by his regime and Saeed Sultanpour was executed by IRI, captured in his wedding night} who lost their dear lives for the liberation and well-being of the people in the their fight against the fascist Pahlavi regime) -terrorists?

I wish these so-called high on horses of political activism and die hard fans of the Pahlavi era would read a little, to know that Saeed Sultanpour, the popular poet and eternal songwriter of "Aftabkaran Jangle", {those who spread the seeds of Sun in the forest/jungle} when he was arrested by the Shah's dreaded security organization and imprisoned, one of his accusations/crimes was reading the book of " The Mother" by Maxim Gorky. They should know that the printing and selling of Marxist books was prohibited and carrying these books was punishable by imprisonment. {people were reading this book in secret}

From their point of view, {Ahmad}Shamlo, the great poet and freedom lover, is an apostate and a traitor. Why? Because he was a progressive individual and { amongst other things} wrote poetry for freedom fighters and those who were executed under the Pahlavi era. These people believe that Evin prison was built by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for terrorists and that was correct to do so, and they consider themselves to be the righteous owner, decedent and inheritor of this land!

They defend the regime that, its Savak goons {Organization of Information and Security of the Country, OISC} tortured many lives in this same Evin prison and tore their bodies into pieces and gunned these steadfast cedars(stood upright like cedar trees in the forest) down, on the same hills where our eyes opens to it every morning. Was the generation of our fathers and mothers, who were fighters both before and after the 1979 revolution, and those who were imprisoned and tortured under both regimes, were they terrorists?

If opposing and fighting against fascist governments (with any political orientation and viewpoint and for any reason, whether social, political, cultural, etc.) is terrorism, then the Pahlavi supporters, should not defend the protesters of Jan 2017, and November 2019, and autumn of 2022, because according to this point of view, they could be {put under the same category of } terrorists. One should not approach political events absurdly and opportunistically. Wherever it is beneficial for them, that these protestors become children of the country and wherever it is harmful for them, the protesters become terrorists.

Another of their most immoral and inhumane behaviors is insulting and attacking Afghanistani immigrants and their identity. This backward and deeply reactionary political trend often reveals its racist view by using the words like "Afghani dog", "Ridiculous Afghani ", and {saying these words to immigrants} "If you were caught by the Taliban, they would have cut you in to pieces and the Islamic Republic has been very kind to you thus far". Whenever they face the opposition and protests of others against {these behaviors} themselves that warn them these are fascistic approaches, they proudly admit that yes, we are fascists and proud of it! These reactions are neither out of anger nor stubbornness towards those who oppose them. {Through this they reveal exactly who they are}

They really are fascists. Those who, in front of the television, rejoice and get excited at the growth of Neo-Nazis in other countries; those who admire Hitler because he considered the Aryan race to be the superior race. After more than three quarters of a century since the decline of Hitler's fascism, it is still taboo for the majority of German people to mention Hitler, but in Iran it is a historical myth for this spectrum. The first book these people read is Hitler's absurd "Mein Kampf" book, which for them has the authority of the Bible.

These fans of the superiority of the Aryan race do not know that if they get caught by the German Neo-Nazis, their " superior Aryan gene" would not save {their ass} them and they may be burned alive. To love your country is a natural feeling that every human being can have towards their country and hometown. But patriotism, which means that you consider your homeland "The country full of gems" {Iranian nationalists regard Iran as a country made of precious gems...) as superior to others and believe in national, ethnic and racial superiority, is equal to chauvinism and leads to racist and fascist views.

Another case that recently revealed another part of the real face/nature of these royalists, was after chanting the slogan "Death to three evildoers, mullahs, leftists, hypocrites" by the supporters of this spectrum in London. Some of the royalists supporters of these chants in the women's ward said that these three {categories of} criminals deserve revenge/ to be killed (that is, we leftists and supporters of the Mojahedin organization). Why? Because we are against them.

The legendary heroes,of these monarchists, are of such “Shaaban Bimukh'' {Shaaban with no brain}, who during the Pahlavi era along with his goons and thugs attacked popular protests and opponents of the Pahlavi regime and crushed them {During the Coup 53}. The same Shaaban Bimokh whom the fans of monarchy proudly refer to as Shaaban Jafari ``Tajbakhsh" { one who saved the crown} A nickname that the king/shah gave to a lumpen like him. It is better that Mr. Pahlavi {Reza his son} does not pretend/pose as a democratic element, and stops delivering demagogic words. Me and my cellmates experience with Pahlavi fans, the real concentration of the viewpoints of their intense attitude, morals and behaviors every day.

The last word is that history will never go back. We will fight to the end and we will not allow the {return of} experience and repetition of oppression, destruction and tyranny. We should not choose between bad and worse. When you choose bad, you are actually choosing the worst. {When you are forced to choose between bad and worse, that's not a choice at all!}

Bahareh Soleimani, a political prisoner

Women's ward of Evin prison

Jan 22 2023