Life Inside Iran: One Dissident’s Battle Against Torture, Tyranny, and Silence

(Some details have been removed or changed to protect their identity)

On the night before Israel and soon after, the United States, launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, I was up exchanging messages with an Iranian dissident who was nearly killed just for trying to tell his story.

The regime doesn’t just silence you, it slashes your arms, your chest, and your legs. That’s what happened to “Asher Jorjani.” At 4:00 a.m., on June 20,  as we messaged across time zones and thousands of miles, Iranian security forces stormed and raided his car, seized his documents, and dragged him into custody.

His only crime: refusing to stay quiet.

This is the reality of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where truth-telling is treated as treason. And while millions live under this terror, Jorjani’s story is one that must be told. Asher Jorjani is one of many Iranians navigating life under ethnic and religious discrimination. In a state built on oppression, courage comes at a steep price.

His opposition began as a teenager. As a junior in a competitive math and physics high school, he began to realize that the education system wasn’t about learning, but about loyalty. Every day began with forced Quran readings, even for non-Muslims. Students from regime-connected families were favored. Even student elections were rigged, mirroring the regime’s grip on real power.

Jorjani pushed back. When the city’s education department scheduled 10 days of finals without rest, he organized a protest, earning the support even of students who once discriminated against him.

After graduation, he joined the military, not out of pride, but pragmatism. He hoped for less discrimination, perhaps even a merit-based future. His father’s generation had thrived under the Shah, and he imagined a path where he could work, invent, and maybe rise high enough to challenge the regime from within.

That last hope, the boldest one, was his driving force: to rise through the ranks and lead a coup from inside.

Instead, he was met with the regime’s signature mix of discrimination and corruption. But it was the corruption that gave him his opening. In Iran, military officers also control financial systems, issuing certificates, running regulatory operations, and often engaging in bribery and fraud.

Jorjani was meticulous. Working in treasury functions at his base, he began collecting evidence, cross-checking accounts, and tracking inconsistencies. He exposed dozens of corrupt officials. Some resigned. Others were prosecuted.

This earned him a new kind of attention: respect. He used it to speak openly about his admiration for the Shah, and his appreciation for Israel, as he says, the only democracy in the Middle East.

But his success was short-lived. The 2009 elections brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad face to face with Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Neither candidate promised true freedom; both were part of the Islamic left. Mousavi was even backed by the MEK, another extremist faction.

Still, Jorjani and fellow soldiers attended Mousavi rallies, dressed as civilians, to protect protesters from the regime’s Basij and Revolutionary Guard thugs.

He also led a movement inside his barracks to boycott the election entirely.

“We knew,” he said, “that as long as Khamenei exists, nothing will change. They’ll keep sending money to Palestinians (but he meant specifically Hamas & Hezbollah). While Iranians suffer with no jobs and sky-high prices. This is a foreign regime. Better not to vote at all.”

He told the soldiers:

“Suppose a commander walks in and says everyone must be slapped, left cheek or right. You get to vote. I won’t vote. I’ll be slapped either way, but at least I didn’t choose it. Those who vote accept the slap.”

On election day, soldiers hid their ID cards so they couldn’t be forced to vote. When Jorjani was ordered to cast a ballot, he pretended the ID wasn’t his.

“I told the commander it belonged to my father, and I didn’t want him to know my mother’s name,” he recalled. “I put it in my pocket and walked away.”

Word spread, and others followed.

The barracks began to fear a rebellion. A soldier loyal to the commander searched for the IDs, but secretly supported Jorjani. He returned, claiming he had only found two and brought those soldiers to vote to maintain appearances.

Despite their efforts, Jorjani’s defiance didn’t go unnoticed. He was reported, but nothing could be proven. His barracks stood by him.

During the post-election protests, Jorjani joined the demonstrators in civilian clothes. He threw whatever he could at the riot police. He was arrested, accused of drunkenness and “insulting the authorities.”

His brother, a special forces operator, intervened to secure his release. But the harassment only escalated. He was falsely marked absent or asleep in Quran classes, denied university permissions, and eventually sent for “psychiatric evaluation.” He was forcibly subjected to six rounds of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). He only found out by reading his medical file.

He began suffering memory loss, insomnia, and depression. Suicidal episodes followed.

Eventually, the military discharged him, not through a legitimate disability claim, but under a forged letter allegedly written by Colonel Taghavi (later an advisor to Khamenei), declaring that Jorjani had been mentally ill before enlistment. This stripped him of full retirement benefits.

He has spent years fighting in court to reverse the ruling. One judge even admitted he couldn’t rule against Colonel Taghavi. His legal efforts have since gone nowhere.

Even after discharge, the regime didn’t stop. He was arrested again, accused of espionage and being connected to Mossad, a common tactic used to silence dissent. He was tortured, then released due to pressure from his family.

Since then, the threats continue. Regime agents drive past his home, shouting and honking. He’s been attacked multiple times near his home. During wartime, his SIM card was cut off by the cyber police. He lives under constant surveillance and harassment.

The Islamic Republic has tried to destroy “Asher Jorjani” for years.

Share his story.

Free Iran.

The post Life Inside Iran: One Dissident’s Battle Against Torture, Tyranny, and Silence appeared first on RAIR.