Ramin Pourandarjani, a medical doctor who worked at the notorious Kahrizak detention center died under suspicious circumstances at the age of 26 on Tuesday, November 10, according to Iranian media reports. He had been called as a witness before the special committee investigating the abuse and deaths of post-election protesters and had refused to validate the regime's attempts to whitewash the atrocities. (For a report on Pourandarjani's death, updated at 12:00 PM GMT, Tuesday, 17 November 2009, go here)
A new video posted on the Internet shows Pourandarjani giving a speech at his medical school's graduation ceremony last year. His youthful idealism and words of farewell take on a new poignant meaning, given his untimely death. A translation of his speech follows the video.
Rest in peace.
Ramin Pourandarjani:
In the name of God. Greetings.
I'm speaking on behalf of all the friends (NB Pourandarjani uses the word bacheha, literally 'kids,' which is a term of endearment referring to friends and peers.) who are present here today to celebrate their graduation in the company of their families, friends, and professors.
I must start by welcoming our dear guests. I begin with our inestimable professors who have gone to the trouble of coming to this celebration where, as a result of their hard work, we will spread our wings and take flight for the first time. Their presence strengthens our hearts. We kiss your hands and will forever cherish your efforts.
Next, I would like to welcome our honorable mothers and fathers who have gone to the trouble of coming here from Tabriz and other parts of Iran. (NB Pourandarjani was buried in Tabriz on Thursday, November 12) We cannot repay you for your efforts. We only hope that we will bring you pride and not shame.
My next remarks are directed at the kids. Kids, seven years have gone by, more or less. We have shared many, many memories over the course of these seven years, some bitter, some sweet. Memories that are perhaps difficult to understand for someone who has not been a medical student. From running in the hallways to delay a biochemistry exam, to the exhausting shifts in the emergency rooms. We've had so many memories.
And now the day of farewell has arrived. Farewell is a bitter word, but we've come together to bid each other a sweet goodbye.
Kids, the emergency room shifts were tough, the shifts as interns were tough. We were sometimes so exhausted. We used to chat with each other. One of the kids said, What did we get ourselves into? And then a long debate would be launched, at the end of which we would reach the conclusion that if we turned back the clocks a thousand times, we would still make the same choice that we made seven years ago.
Kids, we are the heirs of great individuals. Men such as Rhazes, Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Hakim Jorjani. From the start of human history, a great and sacred spirit has been passed down through these celebrated figures to us, in the form of our white coats. Our professors, who are present here, awakened this spirit in our hearts.
And kids, we are here today to say that we will continue on our path, with love.
O wine-bearer brighten my cup with the wine,
O minstrel say good fortune is now mine.
The face of my Beloved is reflected in my cup,
Little you know why with wine, I always myself align.
Eternal is the one whose heart has awakened to Love,
This is how Eternal Records my life define.
(NB The start of ghazal number 11, by the beloved Hafez, 1315-1390. Translation courtesy of Shahriar Shahriari.)
Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Suicide, heart attack or something more sinister: Young doctor at Kahrizak detention center dies at 26
(updated 12:00 PM GMT, Tuesday, 17 November 2009)
A medical doctor who worked at the notorious Kahrizak detention center died in his sleep at the age of 26 on Tuesday, November 10, according to Iranian media reports.
Ramin Pourandarjani was fulfilling his military service obligations by serving as a physician for Greater Tehran's police force at the Kahrizak detention center prior to his death. Peyke Iran published what it claimed was Pourandarjani's Facebook photo.
Pourandarjani had been called as a witness before the special committee investigating the abuse and deaths of post-election protesters.
The exact cause of his death is in dispute. Norooz initially reported that Pourandarjani had taken his own life, but on Sunday Roshangari news site published a story at odds with the suicide scenario.
According to Roshangari, Dr. Pourandarjani passed away in the early hours of Tuesday at the dormitory of the police health services building in Tehran. His family was informed that the cause of death was a heart attack.
The atrocities committed against jailed protesters at Kahrizak detention center were so egregious that Leader Ali Khamenei had to order its closure in late July. It is unclear whether the makeshift prison has been shut down or not.
Pourandarjani had examined several abuse victims at Kahrizak, including Mohsen Rouholamini, 25, whom he had seen two days before his death. Rouholamini's murder by torture, which took place sometime around July 10, provoked an outcry even among conservatives because he is the son of a senior aide to former IRGC head and presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaee.
Pourandarjani allegedly refused to attribute Rouholamini's death to meningitis, as the regime and Health Minister Kamran Lankarani had insisted, and was arrested for a week in late July. He was released on bail after the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was repeated blows to Rouholamini's head.
Pourandarjani had been questioned since his release by the internal investigations unit of NAJA (nirouyeh entezamiyeh jomhourieh eslami or the Security/Police Forces of the Islamic Republic), the military authorities, and the disciplinary council of the medical examiner's office. But the doctor, who had intimate knowledge of the atrocities and perpatrators at Kahrizak, was also put under pressure and threatened by plainclothes forces, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi news site.
His body was washed and placed in a shroud without the presence of his family. His remains were transferred to Tabriz, where he was buried on Thursday.
The special committee's investigation into the abuses at Kahrizak has been dogged by delays and hurdles. (For a report on this, click here)
While none of the actual perpetrators of the torture, rape, and murder that took place at Kahrizak have been formally identified, Pourandarjani was charged with medical malpractice and risked being sent to prison for five years and having his license revoked.
There is a history of inconvenient witnesses passing away in the Islamic Republic. After a string of murders of intellectuals and dissidents in the 1990s and early 2000s, referred to as the chain murders, Saeed Emami, the only senior regime official who was arrested in the case, committed suicide in prison under suspicious circumstances.
---
(For video and english translation of Pourandarjani's graduation speech, go here)
Ramin Pourandarjani was fulfilling his military service obligations by serving as a physician for Greater Tehran's police force at the Kahrizak detention center prior to his death. Peyke Iran published what it claimed was Pourandarjani's Facebook photo.
Pourandarjani had been called as a witness before the special committee investigating the abuse and deaths of post-election protesters.
The exact cause of his death is in dispute. Norooz initially reported that Pourandarjani had taken his own life, but on Sunday Roshangari news site published a story at odds with the suicide scenario.
According to Roshangari, Dr. Pourandarjani passed away in the early hours of Tuesday at the dormitory of the police health services building in Tehran. His family was informed that the cause of death was a heart attack.
The atrocities committed against jailed protesters at Kahrizak detention center were so egregious that Leader Ali Khamenei had to order its closure in late July. It is unclear whether the makeshift prison has been shut down or not.
Pourandarjani had examined several abuse victims at Kahrizak, including Mohsen Rouholamini, 25, whom he had seen two days before his death. Rouholamini's murder by torture, which took place sometime around July 10, provoked an outcry even among conservatives because he is the son of a senior aide to former IRGC head and presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaee.
Pourandarjani allegedly refused to attribute Rouholamini's death to meningitis, as the regime and Health Minister Kamran Lankarani had insisted, and was arrested for a week in late July. He was released on bail after the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was repeated blows to Rouholamini's head.
Pourandarjani had been questioned since his release by the internal investigations unit of NAJA (nirouyeh entezamiyeh jomhourieh eslami or the Security/Police Forces of the Islamic Republic), the military authorities, and the disciplinary council of the medical examiner's office. But the doctor, who had intimate knowledge of the atrocities and perpatrators at Kahrizak, was also put under pressure and threatened by plainclothes forces, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi news site.
His body was washed and placed in a shroud without the presence of his family. His remains were transferred to Tabriz, where he was buried on Thursday.
The special committee's investigation into the abuses at Kahrizak has been dogged by delays and hurdles. (For a report on this, click here)
While none of the actual perpetrators of the torture, rape, and murder that took place at Kahrizak have been formally identified, Pourandarjani was charged with medical malpractice and risked being sent to prison for five years and having his license revoked.
There is a history of inconvenient witnesses passing away in the Islamic Republic. After a string of murders of intellectuals and dissidents in the 1990s and early 2000s, referred to as the chain murders, Saeed Emami, the only senior regime official who was arrested in the case, committed suicide in prison under suspicious circumstances.
---
(For video and english translation of Pourandarjani's graduation speech, go here)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Delusions of candor: Tehran IRGC commander puts the latest spin on unrest
'Delusions of candor' is an ongoing series on the regime's efforts to spin the news, create disinformation, and spread propaganda.
'Despite reports published in foreign media, the number of dead in the unrest totaled 36, three in Kahrizak [detention center] and almost 10 others whose place of death is known. But it is unclear where the rest were killed and who shot them,' said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander for Greater Tehran, General Abdollah Araghi.
Araghi, who heads the IRGC's Mohammad Rassoulollah (Mohammad Prophet of God) Corps, was speaking at the induction ceremony for northern Tehran's new IRGC commander, according to news reports from ILNA and IRNA.
Before the closure of its offices on Tuesday, September 8, the opposition committee looking into the abuse and deaths of protesters had released a list of 72 identified dead protesters and had announced additions to the tally in the near future. Two senior members of the committee, Alireza Beheshti and Morteza Alviri, were arrested on the same day.
However this is the first time that a top regime official has admitted that any deaths occurred at Kahrizak. Just recently, Iran's Security Forces Chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam had said that no one had died at the notorious detention center. Araghi's figures also contradict those of IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari, who claimed last week, 'In total, there were 29 dead and of those, 20 belonged to the Basij forces and only 9 were protesters.'
Araghi devoted most of his speech to the post-election unrest and the security measures taken to counter it.
In a strange statement, fraught with unintended meaning, Araghi said, 'Three outcomes had been predicted. First, that the Principlist candidate [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] would take the vote, and this is what happened and we saw the result. Second, that Mr. Mousavi and the 2nd of Khordad front would win the vote, and in this respect post-election celebrations had been predicted. And finally, that the election would go to a second round.'
Araghi said that the Basij had not been summoned on the evening of the election, when 'garbage cans, government property, and banks were set on fire, and clashes with security forces took place.'
Subsequently, security forces in the capital went on red alert, according to the IRGC general. 'Certain parts of Tehran, like Narmak, Tehran Pars, and Gheitarieh, saw truly heavy clashes, so much so that the city looked like it was in revolt,' said Araghi, citing only districts in northeastern Tehran, although most of the documented protester deaths took place in other parts of the capital.
'The heaviest demonstrations took place on June 15, when the organizers managed to bring anyone who had any grievance into the streets,' Araghi continued, employing the same dismissive tone that Ahmadinejad took in a recent speech when he said, 'Anyone who had had a spat with his mother came to the streets.' Photos, videos, and eyewitness accounts of that demonstration seem to indicate that the silent protesters held aloft posters with only one message: 'Where is my vote?'
Araghi contended that Leader Ali Khamenei's Friday Prayer sermon on June 19 'clarified matters and led to a fall in the number of ignorant people who were coming to the streets.'
'Unfortunately, the Association of Combatant Clerics' statement on demonstrations, which was akin to thumbing their nose at the regime, invited the population to engage in civil disobedience,' regretted General Araghi. 'The IRGC, Basij, security forces and other forces decided to put an end to this disobedience.' The next day, June 20, turned into one of the deadliest for the reform movement.
As an example of foreign media bias, Araghi referred to footage of a Basiji shooting on people from a rooftop at the Ashoura 117 Base near Azadi Square on June 15.
The valiant Basiji had been defending the base for three and a half hours, said Araghi, before opening fire on one individual who was trying to gain control of the base's arsenal. According to reports, at least seven people -- Ahmad Naim Abadi, Nasser Amirnejad, Sorour Boroumand, Fatemeh Rajabpour, Mahmoud Raisi Nafissi, Kianoush Assa, and Massoud Khosravi -- were killed in front of the Basij base on Mohammad Ali Jenah Street and in the adjacent Azadi Square that day.
Araghi warned that the 'enemy's tactics have moved from the military phase to soft threats' and that the IRGC had to change its approach to confront the new dangers.
He did not elaborate on whether civil disobedience was a part of the opposition's new ominous tactics.
'Despite reports published in foreign media, the number of dead in the unrest totaled 36, three in Kahrizak [detention center] and almost 10 others whose place of death is known. But it is unclear where the rest were killed and who shot them,' said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander for Greater Tehran, General Abdollah Araghi.
Araghi, who heads the IRGC's Mohammad Rassoulollah (Mohammad Prophet of God) Corps, was speaking at the induction ceremony for northern Tehran's new IRGC commander, according to news reports from ILNA and IRNA.
Before the closure of its offices on Tuesday, September 8, the opposition committee looking into the abuse and deaths of protesters had released a list of 72 identified dead protesters and had announced additions to the tally in the near future. Two senior members of the committee, Alireza Beheshti and Morteza Alviri, were arrested on the same day.
However this is the first time that a top regime official has admitted that any deaths occurred at Kahrizak. Just recently, Iran's Security Forces Chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam had said that no one had died at the notorious detention center. Araghi's figures also contradict those of IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari, who claimed last week, 'In total, there were 29 dead and of those, 20 belonged to the Basij forces and only 9 were protesters.'
Araghi devoted most of his speech to the post-election unrest and the security measures taken to counter it.
In a strange statement, fraught with unintended meaning, Araghi said, 'Three outcomes had been predicted. First, that the Principlist candidate [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] would take the vote, and this is what happened and we saw the result. Second, that Mr. Mousavi and the 2nd of Khordad front would win the vote, and in this respect post-election celebrations had been predicted. And finally, that the election would go to a second round.'
Araghi said that the Basij had not been summoned on the evening of the election, when 'garbage cans, government property, and banks were set on fire, and clashes with security forces took place.'
Subsequently, security forces in the capital went on red alert, according to the IRGC general. 'Certain parts of Tehran, like Narmak, Tehran Pars, and Gheitarieh, saw truly heavy clashes, so much so that the city looked like it was in revolt,' said Araghi, citing only districts in northeastern Tehran, although most of the documented protester deaths took place in other parts of the capital.
'The heaviest demonstrations took place on June 15, when the organizers managed to bring anyone who had any grievance into the streets,' Araghi continued, employing the same dismissive tone that Ahmadinejad took in a recent speech when he said, 'Anyone who had had a spat with his mother came to the streets.' Photos, videos, and eyewitness accounts of that demonstration seem to indicate that the silent protesters held aloft posters with only one message: 'Where is my vote?'
Araghi contended that Leader Ali Khamenei's Friday Prayer sermon on June 19 'clarified matters and led to a fall in the number of ignorant people who were coming to the streets.'
'Unfortunately, the Association of Combatant Clerics' statement on demonstrations, which was akin to thumbing their nose at the regime, invited the population to engage in civil disobedience,' regretted General Araghi. 'The IRGC, Basij, security forces and other forces decided to put an end to this disobedience.' The next day, June 20, turned into one of the deadliest for the reform movement.
As an example of foreign media bias, Araghi referred to footage of a Basiji shooting on people from a rooftop at the Ashoura 117 Base near Azadi Square on June 15.
The valiant Basiji had been defending the base for three and a half hours, said Araghi, before opening fire on one individual who was trying to gain control of the base's arsenal. According to reports, at least seven people -- Ahmad Naim Abadi, Nasser Amirnejad, Sorour Boroumand, Fatemeh Rajabpour, Mahmoud Raisi Nafissi, Kianoush Assa, and Massoud Khosravi -- were killed in front of the Basij base on Mohammad Ali Jenah Street and in the adjacent Azadi Square that day.
Araghi warned that the 'enemy's tactics have moved from the military phase to soft threats' and that the IRGC had to change its approach to confront the new dangers.
He did not elaborate on whether civil disobedience was a part of the opposition's new ominous tactics.
Monday, September 7, 2009
List of 72 dead protesters published by opposition web site
The Norooz news site, close to the Islamic Iran Participation Front, published a list of 72 'martyrs who have been identified thus far' on Friday, September 4. The list has been compiled by the committee set up by Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to investigate the deaths and arrests following the election.
To elevate these individuals beyond statistics, I've added photos, footage, and additional information in italics when possible. I'll update this list when more information becomes available.
In recent days, numerous inaccurate statistics on the number of dead protesters have been published by the coup plotters. The latest incorrect information was given by the head of the Revolutionary Guards. In response to such baseless remarks which aim to whitewash the situation and distract public opinion from the crimes committed during the post-election events, Norooz news site is publishing the names of the martyrs so that slumbering consciences may perhaps be awakened, so that the process of hiding clear facts may come to an end, that they may accept that such acts and crimes were carried out by the coup's agents, and that they may stop covering up these crimes.
The names and detailed information of 72 martyrs who have been identified so far are published in this article. Efforts to identify others and complete this list continue. This list of martyrs is not exhaustive.
Norooz points out that IRGC commander Jafari, in his latest claim, said that only 27 people had been killed in the recent events, that only 7 of them were protesters, and that the remaining 20 were revolutionary forces or Basijis who had been killed by demonstrators.
Norooz is publishing two lists of martyrs. The first list contains the identities of 25 martyrs whose families have contacted the organizations named by Mir Hossein Mousavi and Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi in order to declare the martyrdom of their child or relative.
The second list contains the names of martyrs whose families are under pressure and have not contacted the authorities named by Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi.
First List
(Viewer discretion: Additional information courtesy Human Rights Activists News Agency.)
(Additional information courtesy Iran News Agency.)
(Footage of Kianoush playing music)
(updated 13 January 2010. Video showing Sohrab and his mother demonstrating days before he was killed, click here)
(Video compilation of Sohrab's story)
Eftekhari worked for Abrar Eghtesad, an economics publication.
(Viewer discretion: Footage of Neda's death. Two videos synchronized side by side.)
(Interview with Neda's mother in English)
A friend who saw Amir's body told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that he had been tortured: 'He had a fractured skull, one of his eyes was almost crushed, all the nails on his toes had been extracted, and all of his body was bruised.' (courtesy Radio Farda and Golnaz Esfandiari)
(updated 13 January 2010, video of an interview conducted by the Voice of America with Amir's father, click here)
7. Moharram Chegini Gheshlaghi, 34, buried section 256, row 146, plot 13
8. Massoud Khosravi, killed June 15 in Tehran's Azadi Square, buried in Behesht Zahra
10. Ramin Ramezani, 29, died of blood clots in his chest after being released from prison, buried section 257, row 46, plot 32.
Mohsen's death provoked the first outcries in the conservative camp because his father was a senior adviser to former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai, who also ran for president in the June election. After first claiming he had died of meningitis, the authorities finally released a medical forensic report which admitted his death was due to blows from a blunt object while he was in custody.
(Footage of Mohsen's memorial service)
(Footage of VOA's interview with Ashkan's mother, Zahra Nikpeyma. Nikpeyma: 'Ashkan had just stepped out to go to a friend's house, five minutes away. There were no protests in our street. Despite their claim that they don't open fire in uncrowded streets, they shot Ashkan in a street where not even ten people go by in a year...')
Amir Hossein leaves behind a seven-year-old daughter, according to this piece by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, which provides details of the day of his death.
(Photo of the flier at Amir Hossein's 7th-day memorial service courtesy of the Human Rights Activists News Agency )
(Saeed's father speaks of his death, courtesy of the Iran News Agency. Only in Farsi for now.)
Initial reports said that Mostafa had been shot on his rooftop by a sniper as he was chanting Allaho-Akbar.
(Footage of Mostafa's memorial service)
(Update - 22 October 2009 - footage of Mostafa's funeral in Mashhad)
(Updated 18 January 2010 - footage of a memorial service where some participants protest when the presiding cleric begins saying that foreign media fooled the post-election protesters, click here.)
16. Ali Fathalian, killed June 20 in front of Lolagar mosque, buried section 9, row 110, plot 22.
Resident of Shokoufeh Street, Roudaki neighborhood, Tehran. (courtesy Iran Crime Watch)
17. Hadi Fallahmanesh, 29, merchant, killed in Tehran, buried section 53 of Behesht Zahra.
18. Ahmad Kargar Nejati, died in hospital as a result of blows, buried section 213, row 15, plot 35
Behzad disappeared for six weeks before his family finally found his body. He has been buried in Behesht Zahra cemetery. (courtesy RFE/RL article)
20. Nader Nasseri, killed June 20 in Tehran's Khosh Street, buried in the town of Babol
Ashoura 117 Basij base, from the rooftop of which shots were fired at demonstrators, is on Mohammad Ali Jenah Street, next to Azadi Square. Footage of this on Britain's Channel 4.
(Piece written on Massoud by Ali Shakouri Rad of the Islamic Iran Participation Front. Only in Farsi for now).
(Photo of protester holding up a poster of Mehdi)
Mohammad Ali Jenah Street, next to Azadi Square, is also the location of the Ashoura 117 Basij base, from the rooftop of which shots were fired at demonstrators. Footage of this shooting on Britain's Channel 4.
(Video in memory of Nasser)
25. Mahmoud Raisi Najafi, laborer, killed June 28, shot by security forces in Azadi Square on June 15, died 13 days later at home.
Second list
26. Mina Ehterami, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, buried secretly without her family being notified.
(Footage of the aftermath of the attack on Tehran University dormitories)
27. Neda Assadi
28. Saeed Esmaili Khanbebin, 23, killed by blows to the head
Saeed's body was returned to his family only after they paid security forces, according to news reports.
29. Morad Aghassi
31. Vahed Akbari, 34, freelancer, killed June 20 in Tehran's Vanak Street, shot in the side, buried in section 261 on June 23.
32. Mohsen Entezami
33. Mohsen Imani, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, buried secretly without his family being notified.
34. Fatemeh Barati, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, buried secretly without her family being notified.
35. Mohammad Hossein Barzegar, 25, freelancer, killed June 17 in Tehran's 7th Tir Square, shot in the head, buried in section 302 on June 21 after family's pledge was obtained.
36. Jafar Barvayeh, lecturer at Ahvaz's Chamran University, PhD student at Tehran University, killed in Tehran's Baharestan Square, shot in the head
Yaghoub was reportedly taken to Loghman Hakim Hospital and registered in the ICU after he was shot.
(Interview with Yaghoub's mother. Only in Farsi for now)
38. Sorour Boroumand, 58, killed June 15 at Tehran's Mohammad Ali Jenah Street.
Mohammad Ali Jenah Street, next to Azadi Square, is also the location of the Ashoura 117 Basij base, from the rooftop of which shots were fired at demonstrators. Footage of this on Britain's Channel 4.
39. Hamed Besharati, 26, killed June 20 in Tehran, shot by security forces
40. Farzad Jashni, killed June 20 in Tehran
A native of the town of Abdanan (not Abadan), Ilam province, son of Seyed Jafar, courtesy Rooz article.
42. Mohsen Haddadi, 24, computer programmer, killed June 30 in Tehran's Nosrat Street, shot in the forehead, buried in section 262 on June 23.
43. Shalir Khazari, killed June 16 in Tehran's Baharestan Square.
44. Fatemeh Rajabpour, 38, killed on June 15 in Tehran's Mohammad Ali Jenah Street.
Mohammad Ali Jenah Street, next to Azadi Square, is also the location of the Ashoura 117 Basij base, from the rooftop of which shots were fired at demonstrators. Footage of this on Britain's Channel 4.
45. Babak Sepehr, 35, killed June 20 in Tehran, shot by security forces.
46. Fahimeh Salahshour, 25, high-school graduate, killed on June 15 in Tehran's Vali Asr Square, died in a hospital, internal bleeding from blows to the head sustained on June 14.
47. Tina Soudi, university student, killed on June 20 in Enghelab Square, shot.
48. Hassan Shapouri
49. Ali Shahedi, 24, killed June 21 in Tehran Pars, died in uncertain circumstances after being arrested and transferred to a police station, death certificate says he died of unknown causes, family believes he died from blows received in the police station.
50. Kasra Sharafi, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, buried secretly without his family being notified.
51. Kambiz Shoaie, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, buried secretly without his family being notified.
53. Saeed Reza Tabatabaie, 30, degree in accounting, killed June 20 in Tehran's Azerbaijan Street, shot in the head, buried in section 259 on June 24 after family's pledge was obtained.
54. Vahid Reza Tabatabaie, 29, degree in English, killed June 24 in Tehran's Baharestan Square, shot in the head, buried in section 308 on June 27.
56. Salar Tahmasebi, 27, business student in Rasht University, killed June 20 in Tehran's Jomhouri Street, shot in the forehead, buried in section 254 on June 23.
58. Abolfazl Abdollahi, 21, electrical sciences student, killed June 20 in front of Tehran's Sharif University, shot in the back of the head, buried in section 248 on June 23.
59. Hamid Araghi, killed in Azadi Street, shot.
60. Kaveh Ali Pour, 19, killed June 20 in Tehran
Security forces demanded a 'bullet fee' of $3,000 to release Kaveh's body. His father, a doorman at a clinic and a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, told authorities he could not afford this and finally obtained his son's body without paying the price after he pledge Kaveh would not be buried in tehran. His son was laid to rest in Rasht.
(Wall Street Journal article on Kaveh)
61. Hossein Alef, killed June 17 in Isfahan.
62. Reza Fattahi
63. Parissa Kolli, 25, literature graduate, killed June 21 in Tehran's Keshavarz Boulevard, shot in the neck, buried in section 259 on June 23.
66. Hamid Medah Shourcheh, activist in Mousavi's campaign HQ, killed June 15 in Mashhad, died of his injuries several days after being released, brain hemorrhage.
67. Maryam Mehr Azin, 24, killed June 20 in Tehran, shot by security forces.
69. Iman Namazi, engineering student at Tehran University, killed June 15 in Tehran's University Street, died in the attack of security forces on this street.
70. Mohammad Nikzadi, 22, engineering graduate, killed June 16 in Tehran's Vanak Square, shot in the chest, buried in section 257.
71. Iman Hashemi, 27, freelancer, killed June 20 in Tehran's Azadi Street, shot in the eye, buried in section 259 on June 24.
72. Milad Yazdan Panah, 30, killed June 20 in Tehran, shot by security forces.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"A sense of vengeance is the only thing that keeps me alive..."
The Observers is France 24's citizen journalism site. It features reports and information from the news network's trusted sources.
This video was posted yesterday.
Minou: My name is Minou. I was arrested in one of the demonstrations in the month after the election. I was jailed for about a month. I was not surprised by the punches and kicks of the plainclothesmen, but I was shaken by the insults and abuse that took place in the detention center, which I think was in the Pasdaran district (NB Northeast Tehran). I'm not ready to talk about everything yet. I've only managed to keep going with the sedatives that I take. The worse thing about prison -- beyond the food, lack of beds, turmoil, insults, interrogations at all times of the day and night, and sexual abuse -- was that they wanted me to write down the names of all the men and women with whom I had had sex.They wanted all the details. I had to make up stories and confess to them. They kept touching me and making vulgar comments about parts of my body. They would beat my backside with a baton so I would give greater details of my sexual encounters. They loved it. When I would object, they would hit me in the mouth and threaten to rape me from behind. I can't say anything about those days and nights of interrogation because it makes me feel even worse. But I know that I will write it all down some day so that everyone knows what they do to the women of this country. I hope I live until that day. A sense of vengeance is the only thing that keeps me alive.
This video was posted yesterday.
Minou: My name is Minou. I was arrested in one of the demonstrations in the month after the election. I was jailed for about a month. I was not surprised by the punches and kicks of the plainclothesmen, but I was shaken by the insults and abuse that took place in the detention center, which I think was in the Pasdaran district (NB Northeast Tehran). I'm not ready to talk about everything yet. I've only managed to keep going with the sedatives that I take. The worse thing about prison -- beyond the food, lack of beds, turmoil, insults, interrogations at all times of the day and night, and sexual abuse -- was that they wanted me to write down the names of all the men and women with whom I had had sex.They wanted all the details. I had to make up stories and confess to them. They kept touching me and making vulgar comments about parts of my body. They would beat my backside with a baton so I would give greater details of my sexual encounters. They loved it. When I would object, they would hit me in the mouth and threaten to rape me from behind. I can't say anything about those days and nights of interrogation because it makes me feel even worse. But I know that I will write it all down some day so that everyone knows what they do to the women of this country. I hope I live until that day. A sense of vengeance is the only thing that keeps me alive.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saeedeh Pour-Aghai: Another case of rape and murder?
Unconfirmed reports of the rape and murder of another female protester, Saeedeh Pour-Aghai, are emerging from two sources.
Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, an opposition news site, reports that Pour-Aghai has been buried in an anonymous grave in section 302 of Behesht Zahra cemetery. According to this news site, Pour-Aghai was arrested as she was chanting Allaho-Akbar from her rooftop in Dolat Street, Tehran. Mowjeh Sabz continues, "After 20 days, her mother identified her corpse at a cold storage facility in southern Tehran. Authorities refused to release Pour-Aghai's body to her mother. Weeks later, her family learned that her body was in section 302 of Behseht Zahra."
Norooz first broke the story of dozens of anonymous graves in section 302 of Behesht Zahra cemetery last week. Video footage and additional corroborating information has been published since.
Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi continues, "Pour-Aghai's family decided to speak out despite severe pressure to keep silent. She was savagely raped, then murdered. Her body was doused with acid to hide evidence. Pour-Aghai's family was told she had died from a severe kidney ailment."
Saeedeh Pour-Aghai's funeral service was held at Gholhak mosque, in her neighborhood, on Saturday 29 August.
Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi went on to say that new information indicates that most who were buried anonymously in section 302 were women who had been raped. This news service also claims it has learned of a mass grave near Behesht Zahra. Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi says that details of these last two points will be published on their web site after they have been confirmed.
Mowjeh Sabz's article http://tinyurl.com/krfyuu includes a leaflet with Pour-Aghai's photo from her funeral service.
Later yesterday afternoon (Aug 30), Parleman News, the web site of the Imam Line Faction of the Majlis, published a relevant note. Parleman News explained that Pour-Aghai's father died two years ago from the protracted effects of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War. "[Martyr Abbas Pour-Aghai] had defended the honor of the Iranian nation over the 8 years of the war. He had hoped that we would defend his honor after he had passed away. He had left his wife and young daughter in our hands. What did we do?," wrote Parleman News.
The Imam Line Faction site went on to say, "Saeedeh's funeral service, if you could call it that, took place yesterday [Saturday 29 Aug]. Her mother, a few relatives, and Mir Hossein Moussavi were the only ones in that grief-ridden service. Saeedeh was neither an overthrower, nor a velveteer. She was simply chanting Allaho-Akbar until three women and two men came and took her away forever that night. Her mother sought Saeedeh unsuccessfully, until a relative close to the government guided her to an industrial cold storage facility where she embraced her child's black and frozen body. Why was there nothing left of that youthful joy and enthusiasm? Yesterday, everyone wept."
Parleman News's note can be found here http://tinyurl.com/m9dmyo
Thursday, August 13, 2009
VOA Newstalk - 12 August 2009 - Karroubi's letter, torture and rape in Iranian prisons.
Translation of last night's Newstalk on VOA (Voice of America) Persian which was particularly interesting.
VOA Newstalk on Windows Media Player http://tinyurl.com/lyj848, on Real Player http://tinyurl.com/mglltg
For those unfamiliar with the show, Wednesday's episodes of Newstalk are very popular in Iran (midnight to 1AM). Wednesday's popularity is because of the two regular guests: Alireza Nourizadeh and Mohsen Sazegara. Nourizadeh is the director of the Center for Arab & Iranian Studies in London. Sazegara, a founder of the Revolutionary Guards, became a regime opponent and runs the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Topic of Aug 12 VOA Newstalk: Karroubi's letter, torture and rape in Iranian prisons.
Part I:
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Larijani said that after broad investigations, there was no proof of rape or torture. He then asked for proof.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
This is a country where they smash Mohsen Rouholamini's mouth, his body is subjected to torture. Then Health Minister Lankarani says that Rouholamini died of meningitis. They turn everything on its head.
Let me give a little background to this matter. That great cleric Ayatollah Montazeri, when he was steps away from becoming Supreme Leader (in 1989) sacrificed his position by telling the truth and writing a letter to Ayatollah Khomeini. In the letter (sent just before Khomeini's death when thousands were executed in a few months), he spoke of rape. In those days, a few clerics who knew nothing of religion -- among them Jannati (current Guardian Council head) issued fatwas saying that because some jailed women were virgins, they would go to heaven despite their crimes... So, in order to prevent the girls from going to heaven and to torture them until their last moments the revolutionary guards would temporarily marry these girls and rape them before executing them. When parents would come to get loved ones' bodies in the morning, the officials would throw some cash on the table, and they would say, We took 1,000 toumans from your daughter's dowry for the bullet here's the remaining 200 or 150 toumans. Imagine what those parents were feeling.
This process was stopped because of the din raised by Ayatollah Montazeri. Later, when the late Zahra Kazemi was tortured (Canadian-Iranian photographer killed in custody in 2003) we obtained evidence that Jafar Nemati, deputy to Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi and a couple of interrogators, in the presence of Prosecutor Mortazavi himself, raped Kazemi with a bottle. The French committed this atrocity on two occasions in Algeria and they subsequently apologized repeatedly.
Today, in the Supreme Leader's Kahrizak prison, they have raped the youngsters with such brutality that Karroubi had to speak out. They are then hospitalized under aliases. I spoke to one of the doctors and he spoke of deep internal tears, in vaginas and rectums. And imagine that all this is happening in the regime of Imam Zaman's (Shiite Messiah) surrogate. Just this is sufficient to pass a guilty verdict on this regime. How can a human being accept that such atrocities are committed on loved ones just because they wear a green ribbon?These loved ones were simply saying, Mr. Mousavi, take our vote back.
Now look at what they're trying to do with Taraneh Mousavi. (allegedly raped, then body dumped and burned) They've made some fake TV report saying such a person doesn't exist, then that she is in Canada. The proof exists that they arrested this lady, raped her, then burned her body. All this to say, there have been many such instances in the regime's history. In this current matter, a Karroubi associate has said that they have hard evidence of at least 39 cases...photos, written statements, recordings... God knows how many have died under this torture. They first said that 20 had died. Mousavi has produced 69 names. The number is even higher.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Sazegara, what's your analysis? You were one of the early revolutionaries. Did you think it would come to this?
Mohsen Sazegara:
Not at all. In the 1980s we sometimes heard stories like this, never with such scope. I personally didn't believe those stories, or I didn't want to believe them. Until I left Iran. I even sent an open letter to Ahmadinejad in 2005, saying I had met eyewitnesses outside of Iran. Mr. Allamehzadeh has documented these cases on film. My heart goes out to the people of Kurdistan province. Whatever the regime did in other parts of Iran, it committed five time those crimes in Kurdistan. We must not forget the victims of the 1980s.
The things happening in Iran now are legally crimes against humanity. Karroubi's letter is not the only indictment. Look at Mr. Babak Dad's blog and the eyewitness account there. There are dozens of other eyewitness accounts. I have received e-mails as well at makhmalbafsazegara@gmail.com. Mohsen Makhmalbaf and I set up that e-mail address to compile the cases of victims. All this material is being put together outside Iran in preparation for an international tribunal.
Mr. Mousavi said that the 69 names given to the Majlis are but the ones they have managed to find thus far. All indications show that there are at least 150 dead so far.
But why are they resorting to such crimes against humanity, religion, morals...? Because this team of coup plotters has a limited number of security forces. They thought that by committing these crimes, they could create fear and make the people stay at home. The interesting thing is that the opposite has happened. It's true that people were shocked by the violence, but they pulled themselves together. The violence has fed their hatred. The people's hatred of the regime generated by these atrocities has rarely, or never, been seen in Iran. The Iranian nation has been through much over the centuries. These acts have even whitewashed the Mongol invasion! The people of Iran have endured these crimes and have calmly remained on the stage. The people are not afraid and they are wisely channeling their hatred through new tactics. Just today, they came to Bazaar. The wave cannot be stopped.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Nourizadeh, this issue has resonated in the Arab and Muslim world. What have been the effects? Is the fact that many Arab states have yet to congratulate Ahmadinejad related?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
Let me tell you a story. Rima Maktabi is a young and able journalist in Al-Arabiya TV. When she interviewed me today, she could barely voice her question. She asked, Has this really happened? When I explained the regime's past, the young girls who had been raped by their executioners I could hear a tremor in Rima Maktabi's voice. I could see the fear in this young Lebanese woman as she imagined what would happen if people like Hasan Nasrallah (Hezbollah head, Iran ally) ever come to power in Lebanon.
This issue appeared today in dozens of Arab newspapers, perhaps with a tinge of embarrassment and bitterness. In a country which calls itself Islamic, whose leader believes he is the surrogate of Imam Zaman, crimes have occurred which are even worse than those of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. They do this to their own people! Neda's case was very damaging for them and they spewed some laughable rubbish about how it had been orchestrated. Ahmadinejad, by saying some gibberish about the Holocaust and destroying Israel, may have appealed to some uneducated individuals in the Arab world. Those masses may have applauded Ahmadinejad out of their own ignorance and poverty. The Deputy Tourism Minister recounted how a laborer in Syria had told him he had named his son 'Nejad'. But these current events, and the broad satellite TV coverage in the Arab world have revealed the true face of the Iranian regime and Ahmadinejad to the Arab masses.
Karroubi is not some stranger to this regime. When I or Mr. Sazegara say something, they say these are regime opponents. But Karroubi was close to Khomeini. He spent 8 years in prison. Khomeini named him to run the Martyrs Foundation. Karroubi was a two-term Majlis Speaker, one-term Deputy Speaker, four-term Majlis representative. Such a person is saying, Mr. Rafsanjani if you don't investigate this matter, I'll publish the letter.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Why was the letter sent to Rafsanjani and not Khamenei?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
Because he's implying this Supreme Leader is defunct and the head of the Assembly of Experts must act. Rafsanjani who can't even preach at Friday Prayer, naturally can't respond to such a letter. Instead, Majlis Speaker Larijani responds in a baseless manner.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Rafsanjani's office said he wouldn't preach to avoid unrest.
Mohsen Sazegara:
There's still time for Rafsanjani to change his mind. They've told him, if you don't come this time, you'll never preach...
We've gone through four phases over the past two months: First they tried the old technique of showing strength. They could only come up with 40,000 to the protesters' millions. 2nd phase - Khamenei threatened the protesters which led to Bloody Saturday, when some 80 people were killed. 3rd phase - When people showed no fear, they started the atrocities. I doubt they've closed Kahrizak by the way. 4th phase - The people have not surrendered to the atrocities and are engaging in civil disobedience.
The regime is trying to wage a battle of attrition, but it is the people who are tiring out the government. The people are entering the stage in whatever legal space they can. For example, Friday Prayers. Also soccer games. The last few games have been played without spectators. The people have announced they will attend Friday Prayers once a month. They've made posters in cities throughout Iran to call people to prayer this Friday Aug 14.
Part II:
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Sazegara, you saw in the news that the West has been accused of intererence. Is there any merit to these charges?
Mohsen Sazegara:
This is par for the course. For 30 years, the regime has accused any critics of being foreign agents. The Intelligence Ministry officials who were recently purged said that no foreign countries were involved. This is not specific to this regime. Stalin used to do it too. But the important point is that the age of doing whatever you want within your borders is over. This is the age of globalization, the age of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the age of hundreds of international organizations and media outlets. The world sympathizes with the plight of Iranians. Khamenei can't just do whatever he wants. Khamenei can't arrest, torture and kill, then expect the world to stay silent.
When people with dual nationalities are arrested and then people object, the regime says, They entered with their Iranian passports! As if you can do what you want with Iranians. But the world takes these people to task. Look at Omar Al-Bashir (Sudan). Or the Serbs who were tried. Its not just about these show trials. All the crimes of the regime are being documented. They must answer for them.
I'm sorry for people like Larijani (Majlis Speaker) whose brother is about to head another branch (judiciary). To think that he has become such a tool. He used to be math student at Sharif U in the old days. Larijani should have had enough brains to not become a tool of a committee of coup plotters with Mojtaba (Khamenei's son) at its head. This group includes Taeb (Basij head), Aziz Jafari (aka IRGC head). You have such a team with a group of murderers under them--
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Has this information been published anywhere?
Mohsen Sazegara:
No, I've compiled this through many sources. One of my old Revolutionary Guards friends called me the other day. I've known him for a long time and he was a hero of the [Iran-Iraq] war. This friend swore to me that none of the people in his circle was involved with or aware of what was going on. He said, We're not even privy to these developments.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
What did he mean by 'we'?
Mohsen Sazegara:
The good guys in the Revolutionary Guards, the veterans who fought for their country.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards is saying, Our task is not over yet.
Mohsen Sazegara:
These friends I speak of have been sidelined.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Instead of calling you, why don't they react?
Mohsen Sazegara:
They've all been tempted to write a letter and sign it, but they'd be executed. They have to make preparations. Spread their net wider or go into hiding. The key positions are not held by the old veterans anymore. 50% of the Revolutionary Guards have good records of service to their country and haven't committed crimes. They no longer hold key posts. They may have been 'retired' or they may be instructors... These people are saying, Not only were we not involved in these crimes, but we weren't even informed. A small circle of coup plotters and their Russian cohorts have brought this government to power.
I just wanted to return to the topic of the Arab and Muslim world. The Arab and Muslim world is saying, Attacking prayer goers, raping prisoners, this is not Islam, this is Shiism. When I heard this, I thought, The senior Shiite clerics must engage in Tabarri and not associate with this regime. I can't defend religion, I have no official capacity. But these senior clerics do and must. They must say this so-called Islamic government has nothing to do with Islam.
Host Hamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Nourizadeh, we receive many letters asking why dissident Revolutionary Guards don't rise up. Mr. sazegara says it's because they are afraid. The senior clerics may also be afraid.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
The situation of the senior clerics is different from that of the Revolutionary Guards. The senior clerics are afraid of losing their source of income. They make billions. When senior clerics start owning rubber plants or selling sugar, they worry about their business. Also, this regime has a lot evidence against these clerics and their families. When Ayatollah Golpayegani wanted to organize a funeral wake for Ayatollah Shariatmadari (dissident ayatollah) the regime told him that if he held the wake - this was in Khomeini's time - his grandson would be executed.
From its inception, this Republic of the Supreme Leader has been about fear. Of those who remain, people like Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani, I'm amazed at how they remain silent! When Ayatollah Behjat died, he left behind 140 billion toumans. Khamenei ordered that the money be taken because Behjat had wanted the money to be buried with him so Imam Zaman could use it in the Coming. Khamenei said that he was Imam Zaman's surrogate and the money was taken away. When Fazel Lankarani died, he left 96 billion toumans. Such sums are unprecedented in the history of Shiism.
How can Ayatollah Sistani (considered most senior Shiite cleric. Living in Iraq.) remain silent? Is the blood of young Iranians less red than that of Saudi Shiites or Bahraini Shiites? These youngsters are getting raped and these gentlemen say nothing?! What's going on here? In the time of the Shah and his father, these clerics would cry out at the drop of a hat! Do you remember the clamor the clerics made when Iran adopted daylight saving time? How the clerics said, The Shah's trying to ban prayers! Why aren't the senior clerics saying anything now? Either the senior clerics are mired in corruption or they're terrified. This shows that the danger clerics faced during the Shah's time was nothing compared to now in the age of Imam Zaman's surrogate.
As for the Revolutionary Guards, I agree with Mr. Sazegara. If a military man reneges on his oath, his fate is set. Gone are the days when you could put a flower in a soldier's gun barrel and he would embrace you. But keep in mind that the regime didn't bring the Revolutionary Guards into the fray. The security forces in the streets have been made up of NOPO (Nirouyeh Vijeyeh Peiroveh Velayat, special forces) and other vigilante forces alongside the police.
The regime's divided the Tehran military sector into two parts one under General Araghi, the other under General Fazli (veteran). They've been afraid to use Fazli's forces. The Revolutionary Guards who fought for their country are not willing to open fire on the people.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
The Revolutionary Guards chief has said, Our task is not over, we will crush the velvet revolution. If officers in the Revolutionary Guards are against this, why have we not seen any signs?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
We see signs of what is going on in the Guards. They've sent four or five long letters to Khamenei. A week ago, I posted a letter from one officer under his real name on my site. We see numerous requests for leave. Many are asking for early retirement. This shows that that the Guard which swore to defend the Supreme Leader's turban has lost its faith now that it sees that the turban in question is the cause of rapes.
Rest assured, this same blustery Jafari (IRGC head) that you see now will act in the same way as Saddam's generals when push comes to shove. Just look at how some prominent names are taking their distance. Hossein Alai was a founder of the Revolutionary Guards, led the first IRGC navy. Look at what Alai had to say about Mohsen Rouholamini's death (son of prominent conservative, killed in prison).
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
How will the West react if the current situation continues?
Mohsen Sazegara:
A few days ago, I and a few others met with a team of international lawyers to freeze stolen Iranian assets. In the US government, one group wants to support the Green movement, even if it means cutting relations with the regime. Another group, which I disagree with, says that the US must engage with the regime despite everything and that Ahmadinejad's weakness may even allow the US to gain extra concessions.
The issue has not been resolved yet.The demonstrations in Iran have had a strong effect on Western policy. I have never seen such sympathy for the Iranian people.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
When I was in Washington, I met a few figures and discussed US policy. Before this unrest, Dennis Ross's Iran negotiation team had already been chosen. But the Green movement changed everything. Even Obama's position shifted as the days went by. Now Holbrooke and Ross are waiting to see how things unfold as we approach September. The Iranian regime is eager to create a bombshell and give concessions to the US during Ahmadinejad's visit to New York in September. In any case, I don't think Ahmadinejad will have the good fortune to complete his term in good health.
VOA Newstalk on Windows Media Player http://tinyurl.com/lyj848, on Real Player http://tinyurl.com/mglltg
For those unfamiliar with the show, Wednesday's episodes of Newstalk are very popular in Iran (midnight to 1AM). Wednesday's popularity is because of the two regular guests: Alireza Nourizadeh and Mohsen Sazegara. Nourizadeh is the director of the Center for Arab & Iranian Studies in London. Sazegara, a founder of the Revolutionary Guards, became a regime opponent and runs the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Topic of Aug 12 VOA Newstalk: Karroubi's letter, torture and rape in Iranian prisons.
Part I:
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Larijani said that after broad investigations, there was no proof of rape or torture. He then asked for proof.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
This is a country where they smash Mohsen Rouholamini's mouth, his body is subjected to torture. Then Health Minister Lankarani says that Rouholamini died of meningitis. They turn everything on its head.
Let me give a little background to this matter. That great cleric Ayatollah Montazeri, when he was steps away from becoming Supreme Leader (in 1989) sacrificed his position by telling the truth and writing a letter to Ayatollah Khomeini. In the letter (sent just before Khomeini's death when thousands were executed in a few months), he spoke of rape. In those days, a few clerics who knew nothing of religion -- among them Jannati (current Guardian Council head) issued fatwas saying that because some jailed women were virgins, they would go to heaven despite their crimes... So, in order to prevent the girls from going to heaven and to torture them until their last moments the revolutionary guards would temporarily marry these girls and rape them before executing them. When parents would come to get loved ones' bodies in the morning, the officials would throw some cash on the table, and they would say, We took 1,000 toumans from your daughter's dowry for the bullet here's the remaining 200 or 150 toumans. Imagine what those parents were feeling.
This process was stopped because of the din raised by Ayatollah Montazeri. Later, when the late Zahra Kazemi was tortured (Canadian-Iranian photographer killed in custody in 2003) we obtained evidence that Jafar Nemati, deputy to Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi and a couple of interrogators, in the presence of Prosecutor Mortazavi himself, raped Kazemi with a bottle. The French committed this atrocity on two occasions in Algeria and they subsequently apologized repeatedly.
Today, in the Supreme Leader's Kahrizak prison, they have raped the youngsters with such brutality that Karroubi had to speak out. They are then hospitalized under aliases. I spoke to one of the doctors and he spoke of deep internal tears, in vaginas and rectums. And imagine that all this is happening in the regime of Imam Zaman's (Shiite Messiah) surrogate. Just this is sufficient to pass a guilty verdict on this regime. How can a human being accept that such atrocities are committed on loved ones just because they wear a green ribbon?These loved ones were simply saying, Mr. Mousavi, take our vote back.
Now look at what they're trying to do with Taraneh Mousavi. (allegedly raped, then body dumped and burned) They've made some fake TV report saying such a person doesn't exist, then that she is in Canada. The proof exists that they arrested this lady, raped her, then burned her body. All this to say, there have been many such instances in the regime's history. In this current matter, a Karroubi associate has said that they have hard evidence of at least 39 cases...photos, written statements, recordings... God knows how many have died under this torture. They first said that 20 had died. Mousavi has produced 69 names. The number is even higher.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Sazegara, what's your analysis? You were one of the early revolutionaries. Did you think it would come to this?
Mohsen Sazegara:
Not at all. In the 1980s we sometimes heard stories like this, never with such scope. I personally didn't believe those stories, or I didn't want to believe them. Until I left Iran. I even sent an open letter to Ahmadinejad in 2005, saying I had met eyewitnesses outside of Iran. Mr. Allamehzadeh has documented these cases on film. My heart goes out to the people of Kurdistan province. Whatever the regime did in other parts of Iran, it committed five time those crimes in Kurdistan. We must not forget the victims of the 1980s.
The things happening in Iran now are legally crimes against humanity. Karroubi's letter is not the only indictment. Look at Mr. Babak Dad's blog and the eyewitness account there. There are dozens of other eyewitness accounts. I have received e-mails as well at makhmalbafsazegara@gmail.com. Mohsen Makhmalbaf and I set up that e-mail address to compile the cases of victims. All this material is being put together outside Iran in preparation for an international tribunal.
Mr. Mousavi said that the 69 names given to the Majlis are but the ones they have managed to find thus far. All indications show that there are at least 150 dead so far.
But why are they resorting to such crimes against humanity, religion, morals...? Because this team of coup plotters has a limited number of security forces. They thought that by committing these crimes, they could create fear and make the people stay at home. The interesting thing is that the opposite has happened. It's true that people were shocked by the violence, but they pulled themselves together. The violence has fed their hatred. The people's hatred of the regime generated by these atrocities has rarely, or never, been seen in Iran. The Iranian nation has been through much over the centuries. These acts have even whitewashed the Mongol invasion! The people of Iran have endured these crimes and have calmly remained on the stage. The people are not afraid and they are wisely channeling their hatred through new tactics. Just today, they came to Bazaar. The wave cannot be stopped.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Nourizadeh, this issue has resonated in the Arab and Muslim world. What have been the effects? Is the fact that many Arab states have yet to congratulate Ahmadinejad related?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
Let me tell you a story. Rima Maktabi is a young and able journalist in Al-Arabiya TV. When she interviewed me today, she could barely voice her question. She asked, Has this really happened? When I explained the regime's past, the young girls who had been raped by their executioners I could hear a tremor in Rima Maktabi's voice. I could see the fear in this young Lebanese woman as she imagined what would happen if people like Hasan Nasrallah (Hezbollah head, Iran ally) ever come to power in Lebanon.
This issue appeared today in dozens of Arab newspapers, perhaps with a tinge of embarrassment and bitterness. In a country which calls itself Islamic, whose leader believes he is the surrogate of Imam Zaman, crimes have occurred which are even worse than those of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. They do this to their own people! Neda's case was very damaging for them and they spewed some laughable rubbish about how it had been orchestrated. Ahmadinejad, by saying some gibberish about the Holocaust and destroying Israel, may have appealed to some uneducated individuals in the Arab world. Those masses may have applauded Ahmadinejad out of their own ignorance and poverty. The Deputy Tourism Minister recounted how a laborer in Syria had told him he had named his son 'Nejad'. But these current events, and the broad satellite TV coverage in the Arab world have revealed the true face of the Iranian regime and Ahmadinejad to the Arab masses.
Karroubi is not some stranger to this regime. When I or Mr. Sazegara say something, they say these are regime opponents. But Karroubi was close to Khomeini. He spent 8 years in prison. Khomeini named him to run the Martyrs Foundation. Karroubi was a two-term Majlis Speaker, one-term Deputy Speaker, four-term Majlis representative. Such a person is saying, Mr. Rafsanjani if you don't investigate this matter, I'll publish the letter.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Why was the letter sent to Rafsanjani and not Khamenei?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
Because he's implying this Supreme Leader is defunct and the head of the Assembly of Experts must act. Rafsanjani who can't even preach at Friday Prayer, naturally can't respond to such a letter. Instead, Majlis Speaker Larijani responds in a baseless manner.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Rafsanjani's office said he wouldn't preach to avoid unrest.
Mohsen Sazegara:
There's still time for Rafsanjani to change his mind. They've told him, if you don't come this time, you'll never preach...
We've gone through four phases over the past two months: First they tried the old technique of showing strength. They could only come up with 40,000 to the protesters' millions. 2nd phase - Khamenei threatened the protesters which led to Bloody Saturday, when some 80 people were killed. 3rd phase - When people showed no fear, they started the atrocities. I doubt they've closed Kahrizak by the way. 4th phase - The people have not surrendered to the atrocities and are engaging in civil disobedience.
The regime is trying to wage a battle of attrition, but it is the people who are tiring out the government. The people are entering the stage in whatever legal space they can. For example, Friday Prayers. Also soccer games. The last few games have been played without spectators. The people have announced they will attend Friday Prayers once a month. They've made posters in cities throughout Iran to call people to prayer this Friday Aug 14.
Part II:
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Sazegara, you saw in the news that the West has been accused of intererence. Is there any merit to these charges?
Mohsen Sazegara:
This is par for the course. For 30 years, the regime has accused any critics of being foreign agents. The Intelligence Ministry officials who were recently purged said that no foreign countries were involved. This is not specific to this regime. Stalin used to do it too. But the important point is that the age of doing whatever you want within your borders is over. This is the age of globalization, the age of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the age of hundreds of international organizations and media outlets. The world sympathizes with the plight of Iranians. Khamenei can't just do whatever he wants. Khamenei can't arrest, torture and kill, then expect the world to stay silent.
When people with dual nationalities are arrested and then people object, the regime says, They entered with their Iranian passports! As if you can do what you want with Iranians. But the world takes these people to task. Look at Omar Al-Bashir (Sudan). Or the Serbs who were tried. Its not just about these show trials. All the crimes of the regime are being documented. They must answer for them.
I'm sorry for people like Larijani (Majlis Speaker) whose brother is about to head another branch (judiciary). To think that he has become such a tool. He used to be math student at Sharif U in the old days. Larijani should have had enough brains to not become a tool of a committee of coup plotters with Mojtaba (Khamenei's son) at its head. This group includes Taeb (Basij head), Aziz Jafari (aka IRGC head). You have such a team with a group of murderers under them--
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Has this information been published anywhere?
Mohsen Sazegara:
No, I've compiled this through many sources. One of my old Revolutionary Guards friends called me the other day. I've known him for a long time and he was a hero of the [Iran-Iraq] war. This friend swore to me that none of the people in his circle was involved with or aware of what was going on. He said, We're not even privy to these developments.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
What did he mean by 'we'?
Mohsen Sazegara:
The good guys in the Revolutionary Guards, the veterans who fought for their country.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards is saying, Our task is not over yet.
Mohsen Sazegara:
These friends I speak of have been sidelined.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Instead of calling you, why don't they react?
Mohsen Sazegara:
They've all been tempted to write a letter and sign it, but they'd be executed. They have to make preparations. Spread their net wider or go into hiding. The key positions are not held by the old veterans anymore. 50% of the Revolutionary Guards have good records of service to their country and haven't committed crimes. They no longer hold key posts. They may have been 'retired' or they may be instructors... These people are saying, Not only were we not involved in these crimes, but we weren't even informed. A small circle of coup plotters and their Russian cohorts have brought this government to power.
I just wanted to return to the topic of the Arab and Muslim world. The Arab and Muslim world is saying, Attacking prayer goers, raping prisoners, this is not Islam, this is Shiism. When I heard this, I thought, The senior Shiite clerics must engage in Tabarri and not associate with this regime. I can't defend religion, I have no official capacity. But these senior clerics do and must. They must say this so-called Islamic government has nothing to do with Islam.
Host Hamshid Chalangi:
Mr. Nourizadeh, we receive many letters asking why dissident Revolutionary Guards don't rise up. Mr. sazegara says it's because they are afraid. The senior clerics may also be afraid.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
The situation of the senior clerics is different from that of the Revolutionary Guards. The senior clerics are afraid of losing their source of income. They make billions. When senior clerics start owning rubber plants or selling sugar, they worry about their business. Also, this regime has a lot evidence against these clerics and their families. When Ayatollah Golpayegani wanted to organize a funeral wake for Ayatollah Shariatmadari (dissident ayatollah) the regime told him that if he held the wake - this was in Khomeini's time - his grandson would be executed.
From its inception, this Republic of the Supreme Leader has been about fear. Of those who remain, people like Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani, I'm amazed at how they remain silent! When Ayatollah Behjat died, he left behind 140 billion toumans. Khamenei ordered that the money be taken because Behjat had wanted the money to be buried with him so Imam Zaman could use it in the Coming. Khamenei said that he was Imam Zaman's surrogate and the money was taken away. When Fazel Lankarani died, he left 96 billion toumans. Such sums are unprecedented in the history of Shiism.
How can Ayatollah Sistani (considered most senior Shiite cleric. Living in Iraq.) remain silent? Is the blood of young Iranians less red than that of Saudi Shiites or Bahraini Shiites? These youngsters are getting raped and these gentlemen say nothing?! What's going on here? In the time of the Shah and his father, these clerics would cry out at the drop of a hat! Do you remember the clamor the clerics made when Iran adopted daylight saving time? How the clerics said, The Shah's trying to ban prayers! Why aren't the senior clerics saying anything now? Either the senior clerics are mired in corruption or they're terrified. This shows that the danger clerics faced during the Shah's time was nothing compared to now in the age of Imam Zaman's surrogate.
As for the Revolutionary Guards, I agree with Mr. Sazegara. If a military man reneges on his oath, his fate is set. Gone are the days when you could put a flower in a soldier's gun barrel and he would embrace you. But keep in mind that the regime didn't bring the Revolutionary Guards into the fray. The security forces in the streets have been made up of NOPO (Nirouyeh Vijeyeh Peiroveh Velayat, special forces) and other vigilante forces alongside the police.
The regime's divided the Tehran military sector into two parts one under General Araghi, the other under General Fazli (veteran). They've been afraid to use Fazli's forces. The Revolutionary Guards who fought for their country are not willing to open fire on the people.
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
The Revolutionary Guards chief has said, Our task is not over, we will crush the velvet revolution. If officers in the Revolutionary Guards are against this, why have we not seen any signs?
Alireza Nourizadeh:
We see signs of what is going on in the Guards. They've sent four or five long letters to Khamenei. A week ago, I posted a letter from one officer under his real name on my site. We see numerous requests for leave. Many are asking for early retirement. This shows that that the Guard which swore to defend the Supreme Leader's turban has lost its faith now that it sees that the turban in question is the cause of rapes.
Rest assured, this same blustery Jafari (IRGC head) that you see now will act in the same way as Saddam's generals when push comes to shove. Just look at how some prominent names are taking their distance. Hossein Alai was a founder of the Revolutionary Guards, led the first IRGC navy. Look at what Alai had to say about Mohsen Rouholamini's death (son of prominent conservative, killed in prison).
Host Jamshid Chalangi:
How will the West react if the current situation continues?
Mohsen Sazegara:
A few days ago, I and a few others met with a team of international lawyers to freeze stolen Iranian assets. In the US government, one group wants to support the Green movement, even if it means cutting relations with the regime. Another group, which I disagree with, says that the US must engage with the regime despite everything and that Ahmadinejad's weakness may even allow the US to gain extra concessions.
The issue has not been resolved yet.The demonstrations in Iran have had a strong effect on Western policy. I have never seen such sympathy for the Iranian people.
Alireza Nourizadeh:
When I was in Washington, I met a few figures and discussed US policy. Before this unrest, Dennis Ross's Iran negotiation team had already been chosen. But the Green movement changed everything. Even Obama's position shifted as the days went by. Now Holbrooke and Ross are waiting to see how things unfold as we approach September. The Iranian regime is eager to create a bombshell and give concessions to the US during Ahmadinejad's visit to New York in September. In any case, I don't think Ahmadinejad will have the good fortune to complete his term in good health.
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