Masih Alinejad
Hello, I hope you’ve had a great week.
Like most Americans, I had seen the videos of Iranian protestors these past months marching for freedom from edicts enforced by morality police and subjugation. I hoped that their bravery would lead to progress and positive change.
Instead, they have been met with brutal repression and retaliation. And not just in Iran. Last week the news came out that an Iranian-American journalist in Brooklyn, Masih Alinejad, was targeted by 3 killers-for-hire by the Iranian government because of her vocal activism against the regime. A man with an automatic rifle was arrested outside of her home in New York last year.
I found this shocking – the Iranian government sent assassins to kill an American on American soil for exercising her rights to free speech?
I interviewed Masih this week on the podcast and she was compelling and heartbreaking. “I am not worried for my own life. But what would happen to my family or neighbors if they had started shooting at my home?” Masih is now staying at safehouses as per the guidance of the FBI. “My native country is trying to kill me, and my adopted country is protecting me.”
Masih came to America in 2009, but most of her family yet lives in Iran. The government has been very harsh toward Masih’s family to try to force her to abandon her activism. “My brother was imprisoned for two years. My sister was forced to denounce me for 17 minutes on national television. I have not seen my mother in years – I miss my mother. I have felt incredibly guilty. My family members have been told that if they even call or email me, they will be jailed for 10 years.”
She is also inspired by the courage shown by everyday Iranians. “They are running risks every day by telling the regime in videos and posts and taking to the streets that change is needed. How can I be any less brave here?”
And yet Masih feels that the Iranian people cannot go it alone. “I want to meet with President Biden. The US stands for freedom and democracy. The US should help guide the EU to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, as the US already has. Iran is sending drones to kill innocent Ukrainians. Iranians are being raped and brutalized and executed simply for saying they want a better life.”
Masih also makes the case that this is not something isolated to Iran. “If Iran is willing to do this in America, this is a national security issue. What happens in Iran does not just affect Iranians. It will affect everyone.”
Meeting with Masih and interviewing her was a rare privilege – it’s not often that you meet someone willing to risk so much for her people. Despite everything she has been through, she remains positive about the future of her homeland. “I hope to go back to my native country and have you visit with me, Andrew. It’s a beautiful country.” I hope that she gets her wish.
For my interview with Masih click here and to check out Forward click here.
