Jafar Panahi, Nobel laureate Mohammadi urge end to Iran's theocracy
Several prominent Iranian dissidents including renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi issued a joint statement calling for a peaceful transition away from the Islamic Republic, saying that Iran is at a critical juncture amid mounting economic and political pressures.
“We stand with the people to reclaim the right to a dignified life, freedom, justice, human dignity, and sovereignty over our own destiny,” the statement said, published on Mohammadi's official account on X.
“We warn the law-enforcement and security forces to remain faithful to their true responsibility—protecting the lives and security of the people of Iran; not carrying out orders of repression, not standing against the nation, and not shedding the blood of defenseless citizens,” it added.
The signatories, including figures such as dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, political prisoners Mostafa Tajzadeh and Rasoul Qadiyani, say a renewed wave of civil resistance “taking over the streets” reflects a national will to remove what they call the illegitimate regime and build a democratic order based on popular sovereignty, justice and normal relations with the world.
“Any violence against the people constitutes direct participation in a crime that will be recorded in the historical memory of this land. Today is a time for choice: stand with the nation and separate your ranks from the repressors who are on their way out and must be held accountable,” the statement said.
