Believe us! We are tired, exhausted! During the past 4 years in jail, they handicapped my leg and broke under torture the arm with which I am writing these words. In between these lines, you should hear the voice of Arjang Davoodi, who has lost his sight and hearing under torture and must endure 15 years in jail in the hands of these criminals in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. Can't you hear it! Can't you hear the sound of the droplets of blood falling off the dead body of Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad, the martyr of the Tehran University campus? The sound of the exhausted breath of Syamak Poorzand and Abbas Amir-Entezam? That of the tears of the wife and daughters of Akbar Ganji?

We look forward to the extended hands of our sisters and brothers, to those of the children of Adam and Eve, those of the noble peoples of the world, to come to our rescue in helping us regain our due place in the concert of the civilized nations. Our nation is on the verge of annihilation and would welcome any measure or economic and political sanctions that would accelerate the downfall of the mullahs!

We have all paid a huge price. Perhaps, none of us will ever forgo the bitter memories of the years of torture and jail, nor those of oppression, bloodshed and fear. Despite all the sadness however, we have all learned to love other peoples of the world and that peace and security can not be achieved by building atomic bombs but by loving each other.

The year of freedom