Prisoners of conscience- Jerusalem Post

The Jeruselum Post ^ | Reza Zarabi

[bensam]

Prisoners of conscience by Reza Zarabi

If you have ever had any interest or even the slightest bit of curiosity about the dark realm of Iranian politics and what mechanism allows the mullahs of Iran to inflict their twisted will on the Iranian nation, then most likely, you have seen the above picture.

Holding a blood-soaked T-shirt that belonged to a friend that was severally beaten by the I.R.I.’s Security Forces just a day before this picture was taken, Ahmad Batebi has not only become one of the most infamous political prisoners in the Iran but, through time, has evolved into the symbol of the Iranian resistance. This picture was taken during the mass student protests of 1999 in Teheran. In Iran, people refer to it as the “18th of Tir incident” (July 8, 1999). Like so many other mass demonstrations within Iran, the 18th of Tir protests were a direct result of the Islamic Republic’s savage infringement of basic human rights of the Iranian people. Only days earlier, the reformist newspaper, Salam, was unexpectedly forced by the government to shut down and stop all circulation . Events like this had happened before, but this happened during the presidency of the supposed “reformist” Khattami. During his presidential campaign, the newly elected president promised that the government would no longer condone such actions. He made a commitment to the people that under his presidency, social, political, and civil reforms would be not curtailed by governmental interference any longer. Yet, realizing another failed promise by their weak and inefficient leader, a group of university students (approximately 300) held a small but peaceful demonstration outside the building of the recently closed newspaper. Shocked at the audacity and bravado that these students displayed, the Islamic Repulic government formulated a vindictive plan to “teach these university students a lesson.” On that same night, the behind-the-scenes mercenaries who run the I.R.I’s Security forces sent a small brigade of masked, armed gunmen, wearing plain clothes, into the university dormitories in Teheran and Tabriz, the capital city of the Eastern Azerbaijan province. Frightened and bewildered by the sudden attacks, students attempted to escape but many were thrown out of windows, others brutally beaten, having their rooms and private properties ransacked and burned down. Within a few a days, students and the general public held mass demonstrations, demanding that the government admit to the actions of the Security forces and bring the perpetrators to justice. When the public fully understood the complete apathy that the Supreme Leader had towards the savage beating of these university students by his own hired militia, the demonstrations became more political and more noticeable to the outside world.

After six consecutive days of political unrest on the streets of the Iranian capital, the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, feared that this incident could very well cause the downfall of the Islamic Republic. At that time, he made the decision to order his security forces, along with corrupt Iranian police infrastructure to crush the demonstrations, not taking into account what the cost would be in Iranian blood. On that day, armed security forces, in the manner of medieval barbarians, attacked innocent teenage and college age students with firearms, batons, mace and tear gas- throwing literally thousands into prisons and the most severely injured, being hospitalized for months. Junior film student, Ahmad Batebi, having witnessed the brutal beating of his dear friend in the initial assault of the university dormitories, decided to show some of the photographers at the protest the bloodied t-shirt that his friend had worn on the night of his assault. Once the police-imposed violence broke out on the sixth day, the crowd scattered and all who could, like Ahmad, fled to their homes. Within days of the violent ending of the protests, Ahmad’s picture spread across the news wires until it made the cover of The Economist. Until that time, the undeniable and immeasurable hatred that Iranian youth have toward their national government was a fact that world did not fully know and hardly understood. Yet Ahmad’s picture and the entire “18th of Tir incident” forever changed world perception. As a result of the “embarrassment” and unneeded attention that Ahmad’s picture spotlighted on the behavior of the Islamic Republic towards their own people, Ahmad was quickly hunted down by the I.R.I. security forces and imprisoned. After a puppet-show trial with no legal merit or credibility, Ahmad Batebi was sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic court for committing acts of sedition and threats to national security. Months later, to calm public outrage and show his sick and twisted sense of “mercy,” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, commuted Ahmad’s sentence to 10 years in Evin prison.

Although some of you may be familiar with the history of Ahmad and his picture, I have given this background in order to convey a deep and unrelenting concern that other reformists, including me, have regarding the physical well being of Ahmad Batebi. In recent weeks it has been reported by Ahmad’s parents, his wife, and close friends, that Ahmad is in very poor physical health, and God-forbid, may very well be dying. Ahmad has been temporarily released from prison on a number of occasions, often reportedly for medical treatment that had been long delayed by the Islamic Republic. The mercenaries of the I.R.I. are instructed by their superiors to brutalize, torture, rape, and psychologically abuse political prisoners. After these torture sessions are completed, prisoners are locked away in some type of dungeon-like solitary confinement for weeks, even months. Subsequently, they are denied basic medical attention to treat their wounds, sustainable nutrition, and even water for days. As a result, political prisoners, even young and healthy ones, such as Ahmad develop medical conditions that are unbecoming of their age or lifestyle. According to a UN report that was published at the end of 2003, a Special Rapporteur investigating human rights and freedom of expression within Iran met with Ahmad and learned that he had recently suffered a brain stroke while in prison (In 2003, Ahmad was only 26 years old and had no medical history of such problems whatsoever) .

In addition, Iranian reformist news sources have recently reported that on February 21 of this year, Ahamad’s wife, Somaye Bayanat, was kidnapped in her hometown of Gorgan, Iran by men thought to be security and intelligence agents. Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division has publicly condemned this act and called for her immediate release. Yet, in all honesty, her condemnation has no way of making the I.R.I. even consider the release of this innocent women and if, by some “chance,” Somaye’s body is discovered raped, brutalized, and tortured, it would just become another unfortunate statistic that the world will learn to live with. For reformists, the events surrounding Ahmad’s health are beginning to look like a stark repeat of this past August. Akbar Mohammadi, another “18th of Tir” student political prisoner, was found dead in his prison cell in the early morning hours of July 30, 2006, according to Amnesty Internationals’ report on his death. Amnesty’s report is a shocking and vivid insight into the treatment of political prisoners inside the I.R.I’s prison system. The following is an excerpt on their investigation into the death of Akbar Mohammadi.

…{Akbar Mohammadi} was brutally tortured while in incommunicado detention, denied the right of legal representation and access to family. Following domestic and international outcry, in November 1999 the sentences were commuted to 15 years’ imprisonment. From the day of his arrest, Akbar Mohammadi was routinely tortured. While in the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence, he was allegedly suspended by his arms, and violently beaten. Guards beat him to the edge of consciousness, telling him that all he had to do was blink to accept the charges against him. The information … strongly indicates that the repeated delays or outright denials of adequate medical care by Iran’s judicial and prison authorities have contributed to his death in custody. At the end of November 2003, for example, judicial authorities permitted his hospitalization in response to urgent stomach and kidney problems, internal bleeding and possibly a lung infection. Despite medical advice that he be hospitalized for one month, he was returned to Evin Prison one week later….Between July 2004 and June 2006, Akbar Mohammadi resided at his family home in Amole, northern Iran, where he received medical treatment and wrote a prison memoir. He was re-arrested on 11 June 2006 and returned to Evin prison where, once again, he was denied the right to meet with his family. Following one visit by his lawyer, Akbar Mohammadi was said to be in ill health and suffering from acute abdominal pain. Prison medical staff reportedly advised that he should be removed from prison for medical treatment…..On or around 29-30 July he was reportedly gagged and bound to a bed while senior officials visited the prison. The Chief Prosecutor for the province of Tehran, Said Mortazavi, and two senior prison officials, along with a prison guard, reportedly inspected him on 30 July, during which time he was administered an unspecified ‘medicine’. His condition reportedly worsened in the course of that day and he died on 31 July. Despite the call by his lawyer that his body be examined by an independent team of pathologists, his body was transferred to a coroner on 31 July.

Akbar’s death was such a severe blow to the Iranian reformist movement that, to this day, only few have recovered - and so goes on their quest for a new government. However, there may be still time to save the life of Ahmad and his wife. The Islamic Republic has shown, in times past, to subdue to international pressure regarding these issues. Recently, as a result of a worldwide campaign against the evils of the I.R.I.‘s judicial system, Former Miss World Canada, Nazanin Afshin-Jam started an international campaign to save the life of Nazanin Fatehi, a 19-year-old woman who was sentenced to death for killing her would-be rapist in an act of self-defense. In her endeavor, Miss Afshin-Jam and her supporters led a petition signed by over 350,000 people worldwide. After more than two years in jail, Nazanin was eventually released on January 31, 2007, after paying an Iranian version of “blood money” to the family of the would-be rapist (“the victim“). Although, the case of Nazanin Fatehi had little to do with matters of politics, many reformists, including me, believe that this same method can succeed in relation to Ahmad Batebi, his wife, and other political prisoners. Their cause and their lives are worth our effort. Amongst the mass paranoia that emanates from Western media, between the widening gulf that separates blind pacifists who do nothing about despotic regimes and their war mongering counterparts who only dream of visions of violence, there are still those within rogue nations, such as Iran, that would gladly sacrifice their lives and the lives of their loved ones for a better future for their country. Ahmad and Somaye, like the fallen Akbar Mohammadi, and the countless other political prisoners within Iranian dungeons, are prime examples of this type of character. For all who view themselves as proponents of democracy, of religious and ethnic pluralism, and of progressive principles that help nations advance, both morally and technologically, let us not forget our imprisoned brother Ahmad Batebi, his wife Somaye, and the countless others who are being brutalized by the Islamic Republic for merely being prisoners of conscience. They are not aberrations or anomalies- they are the norm, the arithmetic mean of Iranian youth, the embodiment of Iranian hope - they speak for us all.

In your spare time, please view Amnesty International's campaign on behalf of Ahmad Batebi at the following links:http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130422003

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130382003

In addition, please consider signing the Petition demanding the immediate release of Ahmad Batebi- http://www.petitiononline.com/batebi/petition-sign.html