Omid Memarian
o.memarian@roozonline.com

The Iranian judiciary is continuing to intimidate activists from the campaign dubbed One Million Signatures to Change Discriminatory Laws. Just recently, two of the campaign’s activists, Nasim Sarbandi and Fatemeh Dehdashti, were convicted to six months imprisonment and two years suspended terms for collecting signatures at a Tehran metro station. In an exclusive interview with Rooz, Nasim Sarbandi talks about her sentence: “Ever since we were summoned our strategy was to show our good faith and not raise people’s sensitivities. That’s why we didn’t even take attorneys with us to court. But the reality is that we believe the sentencing was determined beforehand.”

Sarbandi, who is twenty years old and studies sociology at Tehran University, told Rooz: “We have no records of prior arrest at Tehran University or anywhere else. But I felt that the conviction was determined beforehand. Our cases were identical, but my friend, who is five or six years older than me was questioned more extensively. We defended our actions and argued that something like collecting signatures to voice complaints cannot be regarded as publicity against the regime. We are essentially not in the business of advertising against the regime. At the end we will turn in the signatures to the Majlis [Parliament] and public satisfactions will rise if a law is changed. That is better for the regime. But they say that the campaign intends to mobilize one million people against the regime.”

Sarbandi says officials at the judiciary were mostly focused on whether the activists had received money for their publicity campaign: “We both announced that our work was done on a voluntary basis, although they didn’t really believe us and insisted that we received money. They said the campaign’s organizers receive money and there is documentation proving that. They didn’t show us any documents though, and eventually moved on.”

This women’s rights activist continued, “In court we were convicted simply for collecting signatures. Nothing else. According to Article 500, an individual belonging to a group opposed to the Islamic Republic will receive a prison sentence. In effect, the court recognized us as members of the One Million Signatures campaign and regarded collecting signatures as publicity work against the Islamic Republic, basically acting against national security. The prosecutor’s representative said you are two young students with no background, and that’s why we gave you such light sentences.”

I asked Nasim how she feels about her society now that she received a prison sentence. She first refused to answer. When I asked why, she replied, “Honestly, I don’t have a positive feeling towards society these days. You feel foreign in a society in which people don’t try to improve their daily living conditions. I was thinking in court, ‘how can I change the situation as a member of a society in which laws have direct effects on my life?’ It is not just that I am sacrificing myself for the well being of others. When I engage in social activism, and when laws change, it directly benefits me as a woman.”