Reza Khandan: “I Have Lost Hope in Iran’s Short-Term Future”

Iranwire – Reza Khandan, a prominent human rights activist, political prisoner, and the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, briefly responded to IranWire’s questions from prison about his outlook on Iran’s future. Currently behind bars for his civil and human rights activities, Khandan says he has lost hope in the short-term future because of what he calls the “bizarre alignments” of political groups. Still, he believes that the strong presence of civil society will ultimately lead to positive change in the long run.

Reza Khandan has long been a steady presence in Iran’s civil resistance movement. His wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, is one of the world’s best-known human rights lawyers and has spent years behind bars for defending activists and women who challenged the mandatory hijab. Khandan himself has consistently spoken out for prisoners of conscience, often serving as a link between those inside prison and the international community.

Reza Khandan was arrested in December 2024 to begin serving a six-year prison sentence and was transferred to Evin Prison. This sentence was originally issued in February 2019 following his arrest for producing and distributing buttons that read: “I protest the mandatory hijab.” He was convicted on two charges: “assembly and collusion with the intent to commit a crime against national security” and “propaganda activities against the regime.” Mr. Khandan spent over 100 days in prison in 2018 and was released on bail. In 2022, the judiciary declared this case closed; however, on December 13, 2024, he was suddenly arrested to execute a sentence passed six years earlier in a case that had supposedly been closed. He remains in prison.

Evin Prison in Tehran is the Islamic Republic’s main facility for holding political prisoners, intellectuals, and journalists. The sudden reopening of a supposedly “closed” case is a common tactic in Iran’s judicial system, often used to silence activists during periods of heightened tension or protest by keeping them off the streets and away from public platforms.

Read Reza Khandan’s complete answers to IranWire’s questions about the future of Iran below:

How do you see the future of Iran?

Perhaps if you had asked me this question years ago, I would have been more optimistic about Iran’s future. However, the experience of recent years – and, of course, the increasing chaos of the international atmosphere, the catastrophes occurring in the Middle East, and the bizarre alignments of the country’s political groups – has dimmed my hope for the future, at least in the short term. Yet, despite all this, the growth of civil society in Iran and the prominent role of women – glimpses of which we saw flourishing in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement – give me hope in the long run; a movement that earned the admiration of the world.

Currently, the possibility that we might fall from one autocracy into another, or into turmoil and chaos, seems more likely. Nonetheless, the powerful presence of Iran’s civil society can bring about positive developments in the more distant future.

The “bizarre alignments” Khandan refers to likely point to the deep fractures within the Iranian opposition (monarchists, republicans, leftists, and ethnic groups). Many domestic activists fear that if the regime falls while the opposition is so divided, the country could descend into a power vacuum or a new form of dictatorship.

What is your dream for the future?

My dream for the future, like that of many people, is peace, freedom, and democracy, which are the foundations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a world where the dignity of citizens is preserved and the future of our children is guaranteed, and where we can live without fear of a dark and dusty future.

What is your strategy for realizing your dream?

After years, we have come to believe that to realize these dreams, we have no choice but civil resistance and standing firm and persistent within the framework of a non-violent struggle. Civil resistance continues not only outside but also inside the prisons.

The women who pushed back against the mandatory hijab through their resistance and are still fighting the official remnants of this coercion; the artists who bypass censorship, regardless of unjust laws and procedures, to produce films, plays, and diverse cultural products; the books, songs, and music produced and distributed by bypassing censorship – all of these are signs of the people’s resistance against suppression and censorship.

“Non-violent struggle” is a core philosophy for many veteran activists inside Iran, like Khandan. They believe that while the state uses extreme violence, the only way to build a sustainable democracy is through civil disobedience – such as women walking unveiled in public or “underground” cultural production – rather than armed conflict, which they fear would only lead to further militarization.