Iran’s political prisoners champion the NCRI’s democratic transition

2026-03-03 - 16:43

On February 28, 2026, as the Middle East plunged into a renewed military confrontation and foreign strikes targeted the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) initiated a major political offensive by announcing a Provisional Government. This transitional body is designed to transfer sovereignty back to the Iranian people and establish a democratic republic. The political foundation of this Provisional Government is NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, which mandates the dissolution of the regime’s suppressive apparatus, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the complete rejection of absolute clerical rule (velayat-e faqih), the abolition of the death penalty, and the establishment of a non-nuclear Iran dedicated to gender equality. It is worth noting that any expression of support for the NCRI or its principal member, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), from within Iran is an act of profound bravery. Doing so routinely subjects individuals to brutal torture, prolonged solitary confinement, and a near-certain death sentence. Yet, despite the regime placing its security apparatus on high alert, political prisoners across the country are smuggling out open letters to endorse the NCRI’s plan, risking their lives to declare that Iran’s future will be built from within. The beginning of the storm Political prisoners Mehdi and Mohammad Khodakarami In March 2026, political prisoners Mehdi and Mohammad Khodakarami, held in the Central and Parsilon prisons of Khorramabad, released a letter declaring their unwavering support for the NCRI’s Provisional Government. Defying the horrific conditions of their incarceration, they wrote: “From behind prison bars, with hearts full of faith and certainty, we announce that although the head of the snake is gone, this is not the end; it is the beginning of the storm of the Iranian people, the beginning of the war of destiny—a war as old as 100 years against the two dictatorships of the Shah and the Sheikh.” The Khodakarami brothers represent a resolute rejection of both the current clerical regime and any return to a monarchical dictatorship. In their message, they urged the people of Khorramabad and Lorestan to honor the martyrs of recent uprisings and to thwart “dependent opportunists” who hide behind the “Shah’s son” to hijack the revolution. Crediting their resilience over the past three years of torture to the teachings of Resistance leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, they stated: “Our demand and that of our people in these fateful historical circumstances is very clear: the overthrow of the ruling religious fascism by the Liberation Army and the heroic Resistance Units.” A new generation that mocks the gallows Iranian political prisoner Ali Moezi This fearless resolve is echoed in another message smuggled out of Ghezel Hesar Prison in March 2026 by veteran political prisoner Ali Moezzi. He heralded the NCRI’s announcement as the dawn of a new era that will permanently end a century of dictatorship. Reflecting on his years behind bars, Moezzi recounted the historical continuity of the PMOI’s struggle, remembering martyrs from the 1980s—such as Morteza Emami, who was immediately executed for refusing to speak a single word to his interrogators—to heroes of the 2010s like PMOI martyr Gholamreza Khosravi and Kurdish youths Zanyar and Loghman Moradi. Crucially, Moezzi highlighted that the regime’s execution machinery has entirely lost its power to intimidate the new generation. He pointed to