Senator McCaine's remarks on Shiva Nazar Ahari - NED, June 10, 2010

Shiva was first arrested on September 11, 2001, at the age of 17, for the heinous act of participating in a candlelight vigil for the victims of that day of terror. After her release, she continued her human rights activism, until she was detained again in the wake of last year's election. Shiva now faces the baseless charge of supporting terrorism—a charge that carries the penalty of death.

Today is Shiva's birthday. She is only 26. But she is spending this day, like so many before it, unjustly detained in Iran's most notorious prison -- locked in a cage so small, last we heard, that she cannot fully move her arms and legs.

Shiva Nazar Ahari represents the future of Iran, and all that could be best about it—its decency, its peacefulness, its commitment to dignity and justice for all. Shiva, and all of Iran's prisoners of conscience, must know that they are not alone in their struggle for democracy, and their desire to change their government. America stands with them, as we do with all who seek a better future for Iran. The Green Movement lives on. Its struggle endures. And I am confident that eventually, maybe not tomorrow or next year or even the year after that, but eventually, Iranians will achieve the democratic changes they seek for their country. The Iranian regime may appear intimidating now, but it is rotting inside. It has only brute force and fear to sustain it, and Iranians won't be afraid forever.

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• June 10
• 2010