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Latest Human Rights Alert : Mohammadis' Parents Arrested in Tehran

July 09, 2003

Iran va Jahan Network

knowledgeable sources informed Iran va Jahan that the parents of Mohammadi brothers have also been arrested by the Islamic judiciary.

Only a few days ago three prominent EU Parliamentarians had asked Iranian authorities to stop Torturing Manochehr Mohammadi.

The brothers, Akbar and Manochehr Mohammadi were among the student leaders arrested following the July 9th, 1999 student uprising. They have been in jail ever since sustaining inhumaine physical and mental torture. (see below)

Mohammadis’ father has undergone two heart attacks since the arrest of his sons and is in frail condition.

Having totally lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian nation, confronted with mounting external pressure and isolation, pursuing its deadly search to acquire military grade nuclear technology and firing ballistic missiles, wary of the upcoming forth anniversary of the student uprising on July 9th, the Islamic Republic is increasing internal repression.

The nuclearizing theocracy is buying time through a shameless diplomatic ballet. Meanwhile the Mohammadis and entire families like them are in virtual death rows.

Following is the reprint of an open letter written by Manochehr Mohammadi to the EU leaders. It is appalling that no EU leader has exerted any pressure on the government of President Khatami to put an end to the suffering of these freedom fighters.

OPEN LETTER FROM Mr. MANOOCHEHR MOHAMMADI TO THE EU LEADERS

PARIS (IPS) 10 Jun. In an open letter to the leader of the European Union, an Iranian political prisoner describes the appalling situation of Iranian prison conditions and calls on them to put pressure over the Islamic Republic for more respect of human rights.

The 8 pages letter, written in Farsi from Evin prison where Mr. Manoochehr Mohammadi, the leader of an Iranian students organisation is held with his brother Akbar, was followed by an unprecedented criticism from the German government of the Islamic Republic’s "massive human rights violations".

"While Iran has made progress, namely strengthening democracy, curtailing suppression of information and the relative improvements of women's positions in the public, Iran continues its massive human rights violations", the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in its annual report on human rights, released tow days ago.

According to the report, "Arbitrary arrests, abuses and torture in police detention centres and prisons and violations of freedom of expression are frequent" in the Islamic Republic and accused Iran's Islam-based judiciary of "failing to comply with the rule of law" and "misusing its powers for political reasons".

For his part, German Foreign Affairs Minister Joschka Fischer also had sharply criticised the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran for implementing "harsh punishments" on its citizens.

"In Iran, we witness mostly harsh punishments based on the Shari’a which we are not ready to accept", said Fischer during a news conference, introducing the German government's annual human rights report.

"We concretely discussed and referred to the suppression of minorities, the Baha’is", Fischer said, referring to his latest visits to Tehran and talks with Iranian leaders.

He however supported the continuation of "constructive dialogue" with Iran, as against the though line adopted by the Bush Administration in Washington.

Here are large excerpts from the Mr. Mohammadi’s letter.

"As exactly the same period when you, your diplomats and businessmen were insisting in sealing important contracts with the government of Mr. Mohammad Khatami, closing your eyes on the situation of Human rights, my brother and I, accused of participation in the students uprising on 1999, were arrested and subject to Middle age tortures", Mr. Mohammadi starts.

After depicting some of the tortures the prison authorities applied on him and his brother, like preventing sleeping, long hours of interrogation exceeding 17 hours a day, threats of death executions from interrogators, frequent beatings with electric cable, hanging out upside down, beating on the soles etc, Mr. Mohammadi reminds that Mr. Khatami did not agreed that prisoners are tortured.

I want to send you the clear message that if President Khatami was true to his words and promises in establishing a civil society, and showed concern in regards to the affiliates of the Islamic regime, then at least he could have sent representatives to investigate the prison cells and torture chambers to report to him the cruel and inhuman tortures that we, students and freedom-loving activists, are facing? And what about his non-democratic speech, in which he questioned the innocence of arrested students even as they were subject to inhuman tortures.

"Unfortunately it must be stated that today not only Mr. Khatami, but also the majority of the Islamic reformists, have betrayed the Iranian people by making empty promises to them, thus putting a enormous strain on the freedom-loving movement in Iran. The promises of the 2nd Khordad (23 May, the date of Mr. Khatami’s first surprising victory in the presidential election) movement were nothing but false promises in an attempt to acquire power and political positions over the hard-line clerics. In this dirty political competition, the Third Force (innocent people not affiliated with the regime) have fell victims in a battle between hard-line and reformist affiliates of the regime", Mr. Mohammadi explained.

During this period of political competition, where freedom-loving activists and journalists and political activists and members of the Third Force were placed under extreme torture and illegal arrests, Mr. Khatami played the role of the leader of the 2nd Khordad movement, not that of the true reform movement of the non-affiliates of the regime, nor did he show the slightest support for the arrested activists,!

"Keeping all this in mind, in regards to our innocence, not only has Mr. Khatami ignored our human rights, he has also led the way for suppression of the entire student movement. Even if Mr. Khatami was not in favor of the students, at least he could have remained silent"…. Furthermore, Mr. Khatami had deliberately ignored the Islamic Code 37 that states an accused party is not guilty until proven in a public court.

Honourable Members of the European Union,

Keeping in mind the dishonesty and illegal actions of President Khatami, do you still believe in this man, who has lost the belief and support of his own people?

Dear and honourable Members of the European Union,

You must keep in mind that Iranian vote for Khatami was in fact a big No to the regime and a big yes to democracy and freedom. In other words, out of the 23 million voters who voted for Khatami, 22 million believed that he could be used as a bridge to freedom and democracy.

The reformist movement that is represented by Mr. Khatami and other non-democratic reformists is separating itself from the bulk of the Iranian people while, at the same time, the will and the desire of the people has so greatly shifted to radicalism, urging fundamental changes, that it may be concluded that the entire population, even the activists of the 1979 revolution that called for the collapse of the Shah, are willing to return to the past conditions that were present during the reign of the Shah's regime. Today, the faction that once called for the overthrow of the Shah has accepted that it was mistaken and is a scar to the nation's history.

I would like to ask, why? What could have driven a great percentage of Iranians to believe that the return of the former crown prince is the hope for all Iranians and count day-by-day the return of this individual? In my opinion, the answer is that the course of the revolution had wrongfully deviated from its original ideals and the abuse of the rulers from of the people’s confidence and the religion, an abuse that generated corruption, dictatorship and repression.

I would like to ask why is the Islamic regime not willing to organise a referendum that is urged by the people to decide its destiny? If Mr. Khatami claims that his thoughts and path are different from that of the hard-line faction and claims that he respects the will and demands of the majority of the people, then why during this sensitive period, not only he does not call on the people for help, but also he let the hard-liners to throw political dissidents in prison where they are tortured, both physically and psychologically.

Mr. Mohammadi then relates his prison conditions and says that if he is in jail, "it is because:

I reject this Islamic dictatorship;

Because I fight for freedom and democracy, because I believe in a Civil Disobedience Movement and in a government based on popular vote, in tearing down the separating walls of race, religion and gender, meaning my will and desire for equality for men and women;

- I’m in prison on charges of having organised the Students United Front, an independent and, nationalist, united pro-democratic movement not affiliated to the regime, alongside student’s Islamic associations, an organisation that in the eyes of the authorities was founded to deviate the students from religion and Islam, something that is a great sin;

- I’m in prison on charges that our pro-democratic thoughts had spread amongst the students and the Iranian people, thus bringing fear to an Islamic regime and encouraged it to do all it could to silence our movement and out call for freedom and democracy. Throughout the years of injustice and dictatorship and suppression, the Islamic authorities were only successful in temporarily silencing our call.

I’m in prison on charges that I resist to chants and slogans such as "death to ..." to any nation or individual or group since I belief "death to ..." slogans cannot be tolerated.

- I’m in prison on charges that I reject the invasion of privacy and fear of prosecution based on personal beliefs;

- I’m in prison on charges that I believe in the freedom of speech and press;

- I’m in prison on charges that I believe in the peaceful practice of humanism among activists from all walks of life;

- I’m in prison on charges that since the 3 years that I’m in Evin prison, I’ve refused to give fabricated confessions. For this reason, more than any captive individual, I have faced greater torture and ill treatment and banishment of visiting rights. In this 3-year period, consideration was given to reduce my prison term from 13 years to 6 years if I had agreed to give false confessions. In principle, I refused to lie and give false confessions, and for this reason my prison term has cruelly been set to 13 years.

Mr. Mohammadi then says that he has lost all hopes to get help from the authorities, as all letters wrote to the Islamic Courts, Iranian Parliament’s Committee 90, Islamic Human Rights Groups and to President Mohammad Khatami have remained unanswered and goes on to say: "

"However I have hope that the European Union would understand the unjust conditions of torture and guns and chains that my brother and I and pro-democratic students alike alongside journalists and freedom-lovers are mournfully facing and would bring pressures on the Islamic Republic to have more respect for human rights while doing business with the regime;

Honourable Members of the European Union,

Without a doubt, this letter I write to you would be arouse the sensivity of the conservative camp of the regime, and in case you do nothing to help me, not only the authorities would refuse to consider my plight, but also because of Mr. Khatami’s silence, I am placed in great danger and possible prosecution. From any perspective you may wish to observe, whether it being by silence or by objection, my fate comes near possible death from the hands of the regime. My concerns and worries are heard through my writings: "Is there any justice that may rescue me?"

Respectfully

Manoochehr Mohammadi, Evin Prison, Section 269, Cell # 3

2 June 2002

Letter translated by: Alliance of Iranian Students

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