Can a tweet, comment, like, or share on Twitter and Facebook really be an effective tool for activism? According to American Amir Hekmati, it has possibly saved his life.
In August of 2011, Amir Hekmati traveled to Iran to visit his ailing grandmother for the first time. Two weeks into his visit and two days before he was to return home, Iranian intelligence agents seized Amir, and he disappeared. For three months, from August until December 2011, Amir's family didn't know where he was.
It is during these months that Amir faced his most brutal treatment inside Evin Prison. It wasn't until four months later when Iranian state television aired a forced, false confession that Amir's imprisonment in Iran was confirmed. Two weeks later, Amir was convicted of espionage, and sentenced to death. Two months later, his conviction was overturned by a higher court, citing insufficient evidence, and a new trial was order. In December of 2013, in another closed door trial, Amir was convicted of cooperating with a hostile government and sentenced to ten years in prison in Iran. Amir was not notified of this sentence until April of 2014.
For months, Amir was held in solitary confinement, in a 1-meter by 1-meter cell, and subject to interrogation. During this time, Amir was not allowed any contact with his family or his legal counsel in Iran. His solitary confinement ended only after Amir went on a month-long hunger strike and guards found him unconscious, on the floor.
This Saturday, August 29, 2015, will mark four years that Amir has been imprisoned in Iran. I have worked on the Free Amir campaign for three years. For much of that time, social media activity and media coverage ebbed and flowed. With Amir held in solitary confinement and not allowed phone calls home, there was no new news in his case.
A dual-national formerly imprisoned in Iran told me that Iranian officials really do care about the opinion's foreigners have of Iran and the media attention his imprisonment received was responsible for his release. He firmly believed he would still be imprisoned in Iran had it not been for movements for his release on social media that prompted media outlets to give his case more attention.
In Amir's case, it certainly appears to be true. In September of 2013, The Guardian published a smuggled letter from Amir to Secretary of State John Kerry. Amir has said that shortly after this letter was published, he was finally able to call home after two years of no contact. In December of 2014, during another call home, Amir informed his family he was going to go on a hunger strike. Several people, particularly Marines veterans that had served with Amir, saw this reported in the news and joined in on a rolling hunger strike, posting photos of their empty plates with #FreeAmir on Facebook and Twitter. It was then that prison officials told Amir they would ask officials to look into his case if he ended his hunger strike.
In March, Montel Williams took up Amir's cause, making several media appearances urging viewers to go on Twitter and Facebook and post about Amir, using #FreeAmirNow. Twitter rallies began to take place for Amir and #FreeAmirNow began to trend. It was then that Amir began being allowed short, monitored conversations with his family. Amir's father is battling brain cancer and has suffered several strokes since Amir's imprisonment in Iran four years ago, making these phone calls a lifeline for Amir and his family.
In a thank you letter recorded to Amir's supports earlier this month, Amir stated, "My morale has never faltered after all these years because I know I am not alone. So if I am alive and have any privileges here, and if my family is able to cope with his better, it is because of your support and I will always be grateful. Even those of you who have simply posted a comment voicing your support or concern or you may not think it has had a direct impact, collectively, you prevented further mistreatment by my Iranian captors and have brought me closer to being reunited with my family. Your words have reached me and have kept my head held high."
Listen to Amir's thank you:
While clicktivism (sometimes called slacktivism) has had its share of critics, the case of Amir Hekmati demonstrates that it can be an effective tool in implementing change. If you would like to learn more about Amir Hekmati and find out how you can help, please visit freeamir.org.