9/11 x 2: Survivors of Iranian Prisons Bring Firsthand Accounts to 9/22 UN Rally
For anyone trying to understand what political repression in Iran actually looks like, few voices can speak with greater firsthand authority than former political prisoners in Iran, Shirin Nariman and Homeira Hesami. Each supports the efforts of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Both experienced imprisonment under Iran’s regime, giving them a personal perspective on the arrests, abuse, intimidation and fear that can accompany political dissent.
NCRI Speakers Available:
Shirin Nariman: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
Homeira Hesami: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
Alireza Jafarzadeh: Deputy Director of NCRI
Shahin Gobadi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
Ali Safavi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian: Iranian American Engineer
Col. Wesley Martin (Ret): Worked with MEK at Camp Ashraf
**Other Speakers, to include former Political Prisoners in Iran available upon request**
Nariman was only 15 when she became involved in pro-democracy activity during the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. During her persecution, she was buried up to her neck and faced certain death. According to her biography published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, she was arrested less than two years later and subjected to severe torture in Evin Prison, where she witnessed the execution of prisoners, including children, elderly women and pregnant women.
- Former political prisoners Shirin Nariman and Homeira Hesami know Iran’s brutality firsthand.
- Both can describe imprisonment and repression from personal experience.
- NCRI warns of a surge in executions targeting political dissidents.
- At least 100 political prisoners reportedly face death sentences.
- They will demand international action during the September 22 UN rally.
That history gives Nariman a unique perspective as Iran faces renewed international scrutiny over executions and death sentences involving political prisoners. NCRI has reported a continuing wave of executions and death sentences, including the recent sentencing of political prisoner Isa Chari to death over alleged PMOI membership.
Hesami can offer another firsthand perspective on the human consequences of political repression, having personally experienced imprisonment under the Iranian regime. Together, the two women can move the discussion beyond statistics and diplomatic statements to describe what it means to live inside a system where political opposition can carry extraordinary personal consequences.
Their experiences are particularly timely as Iranian communities and supporters gather in New York during the United Nations General Assembly. Organizers have announced a September 22 rally at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, opposite the United Nations, focused on political executions and the fate of prisoners facing death sentences.
The event is scheduled to feature former U.S. Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Gen. Keith Kellogg, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Wesley Clark and former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands, among other participants.
Nariman and Hesami are available for interviews to discuss their own experiences inside Iran’s prison system, what they witnessed, how political prisoners are treated and why they believe the international community should pay attention to those currently facing imprisonment or execution.
Potential interview focus: firsthand accounts of imprisonment, torture and repression; the current treatment of political prisoners; Iran’s execution campaign; and what former prisoners want the world to understand about life under the regime.
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OPTIONAL Q&A:
- What do you remember most vividly about your time inside Iran’s prisons?
- What did you personally witness that outsiders would struggle to comprehend?
- How did Iranian authorities treat women and political prisoners in particular?
- What did imprisonment teach you about the regime’s willingness to silence dissent?
- What do you want Americans to understand about Iran’s political prisoners?
- How does today’s execution campaign compare with what you experienced?
- What happens to prisoners when the outside world stops paying attention?
- What should world leaders do about Iranians facing execution?
ABOUT ALIREZA JAFARZADEH…
Alireza Jafarzadeh serves as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He is also the author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2008).
A recognized expert on Iranian policy, Jafarzadeh has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. His groundbreaking work in 2002 and 2003 led to the discovery of key illicit nuclear sites in Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Arak heavy water plant, the Kalaye Electric centrifuge testing facility near Tehran, and the Lashkar Ab’ad laser enrichment facility. These revelations prompted the first-ever inspections of Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Jafarzadeh is a frequent guest on major television and radio networks, including CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and France 24. His insights have also been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and The Hill.
ABOUT SHAHIN GOBADI…
Shahin Gobadi, a U.S.-educated nuclear engineer, is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
An astute observer of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Gobadi is an expert on topics including Iranian state-sponsored terrorism, proxy groups in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Western policy toward Iran, and internal Iranian affairs.
He has been interviewed by major international media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky TV, GB News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, and the Associated Press. Gobadi’s writings have appeared in prominent media across the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT ALI SAFAVI…
Ali Safavi is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
A sociologist by training, Safavi studied and taught at UCLA, California State University Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. He was an active participant in the anti-Shah student movement in the 1970s in the United States and has been deeply engaged in Iranian affairs ever since.
Safavi has lectured and written extensively on Iran, Iraq, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics. He has appeared in interviews on networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, BBC, Sky TV, Newsmax, and France 24. His articles and commentary have been published in leading outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Herald, The Washington Times, and The Financial Times.
ABOUT DR. KAZEM KAZEROUNIAN…
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 2012 to 2024.
A passionate advocate for democracy and human rights, Dr. Kazerounian is also an expert on Iran and the Middle East, particularly regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, and human rights situation in Iran. He has contributed widely through scholarly articles, invited talks, and media interviews on regional affairs and the democratic movement in Iran.
Nationally, he has held leadership roles with ASEE and ASME, shaping engineering policy and education. His honors include the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, AIMBE Fellowship, and induction into the Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering.
An ASME Fellow, his research spans kinematics, robotics, and biomechanics. He has authored over 160 scholarly works and co-founded AcademicKeys.com and AcademicJournal.com, a professional platform and an online journal for academics.
At one point, while Shirin Nariman was a young political prisoner in Iran, she was tortured and buried up to her neck. Today, she is a human rights advocate, and entrepreneur residing in the U.S.
At just 15 years old, during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she became involved in pro-democracy activities and supported the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). Less than two years later, she was arrested for her activism—becoming one of the youngest political prisoners of her time and enduring severe torture in Evin Prison. Her case drew international attention and intervention from the Red Cross.
During her imprisonment, Shirin witnessed the regime’s brutality firsthand, including the executions of children, elderly women, and pregnant prisoners. After her release, she eventually sought refuge in the United States, where she has dedicated her life to advocating for human rights, women’s rights, and a free, democratic, non-nuclear Iran.
Shirin holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and has worked with leading wireless and financial corporations.
ABOUT HOMEIRA HESAMI…
Homeira Hesami was born in 1966 in Iran. At age 16, she graduated from high school with honors but was denied acceptance to Iranian universities due to her political beliefs and activism. Her activism forced her to spend a significant period of time in prison in Iran as a teenager. She was eventually able to immigrate to the United States, where she pursued her education further, obtaining both her Master’s from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
She has remained active in the political scene to help establish a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran. Homeira was a member of the Iranian American Women’s Delegation that attended the World Conferences on Women in Beijing in 1995. She has spoken at the University of Virginia to educate students about the current plight of women in Iran. She has also spoken at The National Convention of Iranian Americans in Washington, D.C., as well as the Texas Convention of Iranian Leaders in Houston, TX. She is married with two children, and working as a medical physicist in Irving, Texas.
ABOUT COL. WESLEY MARTIN…
During his combat tours he served as the senior Antiterrorism/Force Protection Officer for all coalition forces in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 and 2, as Senior Operations Officer for Task Force 134 (Detention Operations), and as Commander of Forward Operating Base Ashraf, working with the Iranian Mujahedin (MEK / NCRI).
As the Antiterrorism Officer in Iraq, Colonel Martin’s “lead from the front, and spend as much time outside the perimeter as possible” style of leadership resulted in blocking Al Qaeda from killing the moderate Shia Grand Ayatollah Sistani and blowing up the Baghdad doctors’ convention. He also prevented the theft of over one thousand Cobalt 60 radioactive sources and an attack on the Baghdad trade fair.
As a captain he served in Field Command, Defense Nuclear Agency as a security inspector of U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force commands throughout the free world. More can be found at www.colonelwesmartin.com
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