In Les Misérables, Victor Hugo uses all of his creativity to depict the social distance and difficulties of deprivation in society – and the laws that, instead of possibly alleviating deprivation and creating support structures, impose severe punishments on the accused without the possibility of defense in court. Inspector Javert, who is responsible for enforcing this harsh judicial law, shows us in his own way that the deprived or dissenters are not considered to have a place in society and are forced into extremely difficult jobs and imprisoned for life.

Our childhood years, television used to broadcast cartoons for children! While all of our older ones were busy with their own affairs to survive the difficult years of the 60s and after the revolution, our childhood years were filled with watching Tom and Jerry, Koozeh and Jean Valjean and Inspector Gadget; and with the story of “Koozeti” and Inspector Gadget who were chasing Jean Valjean to return him to prison – where he had been imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread – our childhood was passing by.

In those years, the officials of radio and television were making every effort to buy a series of special cartoons that, in their view, did not question the principles and foundations of the revolution – and in these efforts, it was sometimes seen that even for the re-broadcast and dubbing of these cartoons, many scenes were deleted, edited, and modified, or the story was completely changed in the dubbing process! And even the cheerful music of some of them was changed due to suspicion of promoting dancing! – But these became the entertainment of a generation that grew up with the great revolution and experienced war, and later faced these same contradictions that they had seen in these cartoons and had to deal with them.

These are the generations of me and you, those days when Iranian television only had two channels, and from magazines, only one or two for our age group – Keyhan-e-Bacheha and cartoons and Qasedak [the magazine of the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults] and one or two limited attachments in adult publications; were available. Today, it is a great human capital for Iran, which unfortunately has been wasted and its values ​​ignored and severely suppressed. While these human resources are great treasures that, with the phenomenon of brain drain and the inability of the government to attract and employ them, have now been attracted to activities in countries that have given them the opportunity to flourish, which have actually been very effective and important and have created considerable progress in the path of science. A progress that, if it had the opportunity to emerge and develop in Iran and the conditions were provided, could have been registered under the name of Iran and it did not happen this way!

In Les Misérables, Victor Hugo uses all of his creativity to depict the social distance and difficulties of deprivation in society – and the laws that, instead of being able to alleviate deprivation and create support structures, impose harsh punishments on the accused without the possibility of defense in court – in his novel.

Inspector Javvar, who is responsible for enforcing this harsh judicial law, shows in some way that the deprived or opponents have no place to live in society and they are forced into very difficult jobs and imprisoned.

The coincidence that happened today as a result of improper execution and confiscation of desired social or legal laws in Iranian society, is nothing less than the novel of Victor Hugo. Some readers or even the government may perceive this descriptive similarity as pessimism. That is why critics may be of this writing! But the truth is that despite what was preached and praised during the 1957 revolution in Iran, it is clearly in contrast with what we have witnessed during the 33 years of the Islamic Republic’s rule, and a new class emerged after the revolution within the government and its supporters who have seized and taken control of many public resources and privileges, known as “Beit al-Mal”, for their own benefit, but on the surface, they have portrayed themselves as the oppressed and the deprived.

The foundations that were initially established to serve the underprivileged and disadvantaged, with the exclusive privileges granted by the government, turned into large economic cartels that hold significant power and monopolies in the country. Some of these cartels have even formed their own mafia-like businesses and special resources for their own benefit and that of their supporters.

The Economic Complex of the Relief Committee – which carries the name of Ayatollah Khomeini – the Foundation for the Oppressed, the Foundation of 15 Khordad, the Foundation of War Migrants – which later apparently merged into other foundations – the Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Order, and dozens of other institutions and foundations, are among the special spectrum of power and their traditional supporters have had control over them and managed their interests according to their own preferences. Despite all efforts, due to being under the leadership of an active ruler, the parliament or supervisory and inspection bodies have not been able to properly investigate and examine their assets and finances.

When images of the hidden realities of Iranian society are suddenly published, we realize that these institutions and foundations have not only been unable to have a comprehensive plan in managing and organizing their main activities, but even their wide and long structures and branches in the far corners of the country have shown more of their involvement and infiltration of their octopus-like mafia

What was clearly evident and visible in the story of the prisoners was the deplorable situation of prisons in such systems, where the health of prisoners is never taken into consideration. If we look at the current situation of prisons in Iran, based on the news that has been published from inside and through the unjust presence of political activists in various prison wards, the violation of prisoners’ rights is completely observable and tangible. Political prisoners, by revealing the truth from inside prisons, not only shed light on their own rights, but also expose the rights of other ordinary prisoners that have been violated. They also speak out about the lack of medical and hygiene care, as well as the abundance of drugs in the confined and restricted space, which clearly calls into question the management of prisons – that is, the Prison Organization and the Judiciary.

When it comes to injustices against prisoners, all eyes are involuntarily focused on Section 350, Paragraph 2 and Evin Prison and Rajai Shahr Prison. However, paying attention to these two points is very important:

1- Prisoners, are not only confined in these two prisons! In most prisons across the country, from Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan to the north and Azerbaijan – Tabriz and Urmia – Kurdistan and Khuzestan and Fars and Bandar Abbas and Bushehr and Bandar-e-Bushehr; everywhere is filled with political and ideological prisoners who may even have different perspectives and beliefs from ours.

2- Of course, prisoners in Iran are not only limited to the mentioned cases! There are also countless other prisoners who are enduring their punishment for their crimes in abnormal conditions in prisons. It is necessary to remember, when talking about prisoners, that “rights and humanity” do not mean forgetting others! Remember that they are human beings before we pay attention to their crimes.

When we search for news about political prisoners, let us also remember that they are enduring punishment in very unequal conditions in prison.

Here, political prisoners who have committed no sins are not considered a threat by the government.

Their thoughts don’t matter!

The crimes of other prisoners are not important.

In a governmental system where democracy is a priority, what is important is their human rights, which are being violated in Iranian prisons. It is our duty to defend the human rights of all individuals in society.

These days, we see the new and expensive version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables being produced and directed in a large Hollywood studio location, playing in cinemas around the world. Let us remember that behind the special effects, acting, directing, and retelling of a historical novel by a famous writer, we do not see the humiliations and injustices of systems where the weaker classes of society are merely platforms for a select few to gain power, benefits, and public resources. This issue is clearly and openly evident in all discussions and images, and does not require slow and thorough investigation.

It is enough to match it in the historical timeline and in a much larger location called our motherland and find inequality and injustice.