On Monday, leading student activist Majid Tavakoli was released on $200,000 bail after almost four years in prison.
Tavakoli was arrested on December 7, 2009 — six months after the disputed Presidential election — following this speech at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University on National Student Day:
Azar 16th. It’s our day. It’s the Student’s Day. Today’s the most historic day of students standing against this despotism.. [Somebody says, “Raise your hands showing Victory”]
Today’s the day this nation demands freedom and fights against tyranny. Today’s the day that you have come to stand along with the crowd against the tyranny to make your screams heard over the despotism… [Loud cheers, crowd chants “Death to the Dictator”]
My friends, my voice is not loud enough to be heard by everyone. If we can get the microphone, there are numerous friends who want to, on your behalf, address all the dictators and despots of this country and give their speech frankly and clearly. To tell them that we will not welcome despotism any more. [Loud applause from students; crowd chants “Student may die but won’t withstand abjection” and ‘Death to the Dictator”].
My friends, we will speak more in detail. But the most basic, the first thing we should do as our duty in the honor of efforts of our people in the past 5-6 months who took to the streets despite all the oppression, all the tortures, rapes in prisons, all these issues, we believe it is our duty to go stand beside the university’s entrance doors and once again show our unity, our companionship, our solidarity….
(Originally posted on EA WorldView, December 12, 2009)
