ANTI-REGIMC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000238

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000238

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2019
TAGS: CVIS IR PGOV PHUM PREL SCUL SOCI TR
SUBJECT: ANTI-REGIMC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000238

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2019
TAGS: CVIS IR PGOV PHUM PREL SCUL SOCI TR
SUBJECT: ANTI-REGIME ACTIVIST ESCAPES IMPRISONMENT

Classified By: DCM Doug Silliman for Reason 1.4(d)


1. (C) Summary: In mid January CONOFF interviewed
XXXXXXXXXXXX, an anti-regime constitutional
monarchist, for an immigrant visa. Soltani was repeatedly
jailed and released by the Government of Iran for subversive
activities and narrowly escaped re-imprisonment prior to his
visa interview. XXXXXXXXXXXX noted that the current anti-regime
movements remain ineffective as the GOI maintains a tight
control over all activities. XXXXXXXXXXXX opined that no
significant changes will come to Iran unless the entire
system of government is revised.


2. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX explained that he has always been a member of the constitutional monarchist movement of Iran even prior to
the Islamic revolution. XXXXXXXXXXXX told Consulate Istanbul's
"Iran Watcher" in May 2008 that in addition to his membership
in the pro-monarchist Kingdom Assembly of Iran, he also had
some involvement with Iran's Tudeh (communist-leaning) party.
XXXXXXXXXXXX later clarified to CONOFF that he never was an
official member of the Tudeh party, though he had been
"associated" with it. He spoke fondly of Mohammed Mossadeq,
the main figure of Iran's constitutional monarchist movement
in the 1950's. He noted that under the Shah constitutional
monarchists were often accused of being communist in an
effort to discredit democratic movements.


3. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX explained that he was arrested twice
immediately after the Islamic Revolution for activities
against the regime. The first time all charges were dropped
within a year of his first arrest. However, after returning
from a US. visit to his family, he was again arrested and
charged with being a supporter of the Pahlavi Regime, a
capitalist, a threat to the Islamic revolution, and for
transferring personal money to US. banks. He observed that
many other male and female prisoners were executed for
similar charges. XXXXXXXXXXXX was held for three months but, due
to pressure from family and supporters, eventually released
on bail with the condition that he not leave Iran for five
years. He continued to be watched closely by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He eventually won an appeal
and all charges were dismissed.


4. (C) After his release XXXXXXXXXXXX continued to find ways to
fund the distribution of pro-constitutional monarchy
information in Iran. When asked if he was connected or a
supporter of Reza Pahlavi, he quickly disassociated himself
and emphatically labeled the former crown prince as an idiot.
He explained that the Iranian monarchy is not linked to any
particular dynasty, as dynasties come and go. His efforts
were to establish monarchy as a symbolic institution and not
as a ruling force.


5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX was adamant that no change would come to Iran unless the entire system of Islamic government was removed.
Election of a more moderate president such as Mohammad Reza
Khataemi would not be sufficient. Most mullahs are against
the regime but the ones who "eat" from the regime are adamant
about maintaining it. He claimed ninety percent of Iranians
are anti-regime but most are too scared to do anything. He
said that the prospects for democratic movements against the
regime were weak as the government "grabs by the neck" before
any serious challenge to the regime can develop. XXXXXXXXXXXX
explained that in 2005 he met anti-regime UK based "Your TV."
host Forood Fooladvand to discuss ways to advance their
movement. Since that meeting he believes the regime resumed
surveillance of his activities and even believes that the
money he was distributing wound up in the hands of the
regime. He later heard that Fooladvand was abducted from
Britain and taken to Iran via the Turkish border and
eventually killed.


6. (C) In September 2005 XXXXXXXXXXXX was arrested and charged with activities against the regime that included insulting
the sacred principles of Islam through telephone contacts
with Forood Fooladvand and Euro TV, actions against the
security of the country, and keeping satellite receiver
equipment. He was convicted of those charges in May 2006,
which Iranian courts held up on appeal despite his petition
to be released for medical reasons. XXXXXXXXXXXX was jailed for
one and a half years in Evin prison under harsh conditions,
including several months in solitary confinement in Ward 350.
He told Consulate Istanbul's "Iran Watcher" in May 2008 that
while he was held in Ward 209 in Evin prison, he saw or heard
of at least two Al Qaida prisoners, as well as several
Palestinians serving time for traveling to Iran on forged
passports. Due to the need for urgent medical care, he was
released on temporary bond in early 2008. While released for
medical treatment, XXXXXXXXXXXX learned that his further appeals
for medical release were denied and he was formally sentenced
to ten years in prison and fined one million rials (USD 100).


7. (C) Soltani quickly escaped to Turkey to avoid
imprisonment, arriving in Istanbul in May 2008. While in
Istanbul, he met with the US Consulate and was advised to
contact UNHCR to register as a temporary refugee. During his
stay in Turkey he made a brief trip to Cyprus to maintain
status in Turkey while awaiting an immigrant visa interview
that was set in motion by his AMCIT daughter in the US. Due
to concerns that his passport was to expire within seven
months, and his situation in Iran, he was granted an IV
emergency appointment at Embassy Ankara. After an advisory
opinion from Consular Affairs, XXXXXXXXXXXX was issued his
immigrant visa.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey

Jeffrey