Paul Dewar: Proud to stand in solidarity with Saeed Malekpour

This week, as part of “Iran Accountability Week,” the National Post is partnering with Canadian Parliamentarians to highlight the plight of individual political prisoners being persecuted by Tehran’s theocratic regime.

Saeed Malekpour is a Canadian permanent resident, a software engineer — and an Iranian prisoner.

While visiting his terminally ill father in Iran in 2008, Saeed was charged with desecrating Islam. His crime: Software he developed was used by pornographers. Imprisoned without access to a lawyer in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, and allegedly tortured when he pleaded his innocence, Saeed eventually confessed to his supposed crime. The Iranian court promptly convicted him and sentenced him to death.

The criminalization of blasphemy is unconscionable in the 21st century, and it is abhorrent to impose a death sentence for pornography. But Saeed was not even the pornographer, any more than Alexander Graham Bell was the telemarketer. There is no evidence supporting his conviction, beyond his patently illegitimate and retracted confession.

Saeed’s case is obviously tragic on an individual human level. It is a terrible reminder that the situation in Iran is not just about some abstract concept of geopolitics. Real harm is being done to real people. These people who suffer today and yet continue to strive for a better tomorrow deserve our support.

Saeed’s case is also deeply worrying on a more systemic level.

The free and accessible dissemination of information, including images, is essential to a prosperous and democratic society. The domestic and international distribution of images has been a key factor in the successful mobilization of democratic movements in autocratic states, most recently in the Arab Spring.

The type of technology that Saeed developed thus has an important role to play in the democratization of Iranian society and politics. The very sense of creativity and innovation that made Saeed a successful software engineer can be a driving force for positive change in Iran.

Just as the continued imprisonment of Saeed and other prisoners of conscience and politics is repressive for the individuals involved, so too is it regressive for Iranian society more broadly.

International attention to Saeed’s case has already had an impact: last year, the Iranian regime commuted his death sentence

Traditional news media still play an essential role in disseminating information and images, but social media have made it all the more possible for common citizens to share their experiences with those around them and beyond their country’s borders. Engaged youth with tablets and smartphones have thus become the new face of human rights activism.

It is therefore noteworthy that Saeed is also a blogger. He represents the promise of a new generation, eager to share the truth of his daily life with the wider world. He is what the Iranian regime most fears: a human voice that it cannot control.

The Iranian authorities have used censorship and criminalization to prevent Iranian civilians from expressing themselves, and they have imprisoned and abused Saeed for enabling others to do so. Now that Saeed is silenced, we must speak on his behalf.

By adding our voices to those calling for human rights and democratic reforms in Iran, we can make a difference at both individual and systemic levels. International attention to Saeed’s case has already had an impact: last year, the Iranian regime commuted his death sentence. This is no guarantee – the Iranians have reneged on such a pledge before – nor does it free a man who should not be condemned to a life behind bars. But it is progress nonetheless, and it represents the power of world opinion.

This country and its citizens have a particularly proud heritage of developing and defending human rights. From John Humphrey and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to Louise Arbour’s work at international criminal tribunals, Canadians have shown leadership on human rights issues.

Speech and expression are human rights, not crimes. I am proud to stand in solidarity with Saeed Malekpour.

National Post