Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Rahman Hatefi

About

Nationality: Iran
Religion: Non-Believer
Civil Status: Unknown

Case

Date of Killing: 1983
Location of Killing: Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Death in custody
Charges: Unknown charge

About this Case

The information about Mr. Rahman Hatefi (penname: Heydar Mehregan) was collected from the following sources: the book entitled, The Martyrs of the Tudeh Party of Iran by the Tudeh Party Publications, an article by Mr. Sadroddin Elahi (posted on the Rooz website on July 24, 2008), an article by Mr. Soheil Asefi (posted on the Asr-e Nou website on February 7, 2009) and the Farsi Wikipedia page about Mr. Hatefi.

Mr. Hatefi was a prominent journalist and a political activist. Arrested in 1966, he spent almost one year at the Qezel Qal’eh prison (an old prison located in a northern area of Tehran City, which was destroyed in 1971 and turned into a public square). Mr. Hatefi was arrested again in 1971 and released the following year.

Mr. Hatefi became a member of the Tudeh Party in 1973. He established the Azarakhsh group (an underground group affiliated with the Tudeh party) as well as the Navid publication (affiliated with the Tudeh party) and also cooperated with Peyk-e Iran (a radio station affiliated with the Tudeh party, broadcast from West Germany and later from Bulgaria). Mr. Hatefi was also on the editorial board of the Kayhan newspaper. At the time of the 1979 Revolution, he played an important role in the publication of this newspaper. He was dismissed from his job with the newspaper during the purges in the spring of 1979.

A former colleague, Mr. Elahi, described Mr. Hatefi as “a journalist who mastered professionalism through his own experience. He knew the value of news stories and the right titles… He was brilliant and talented; he was familiar with the important minor details and every aspect of good journalism… He had no competition when it came to the design of pages, the wording of titles, and picture selection.” Mr. Asefi quotes another colleague saying: “Rahman Hatefi had a good reputation and [was] kind. He was one of a kind. He always joked and even when I was young, he greeted me, saying ‘how are you, old man?’ No one holds a grudge against him.”

The Tudeh Party of Iran was created in 1941. The Tudeh’s ideology was Marxist Leninist and it supported the former Soviet Union’s policies. The Party played a major role in Iran's political scene until it was banned for a second time following the August 19, 1953 coup. After the 1979 Revolution, the Tudeh party declared Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic regime revolutionaries and anti-imperialists and actively supported the new government. Although the Party never opposed the Islamic Republic, it became the target of its attacks starting in 1982, when most of the Party’s leaders and members were imprisoned.

Arrest and detention

Mr. Hatefi was arrested on April 27, 1983 in Tehran. He was taken to the Tohid Detention Center (previously known as the Joint Anti-Sabotage Committee).

The details of Mr. Hatefi’s detention and interrogation are not known. He was reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance in prison. According to his co-defendants, he died due to torture sometime between April 27 and July 10, 1982.

The Joint Anti-Sabotage Committee, established during the Monarchy, consisted mostly of solitary cells and was used for interrogation and torture. In the 1980’s, it was used for the same purposes but under new a name, Tohid, and was later renamed again as Ward 3000. Since the late 1990’s, it has become the Ebrat museum.

Trial

There is no information regarding this trial.

Charges

The charges brought against the defendant are not known.

Evidence of guilt

No information is available concerning the evidence presented against the accused.

Defense

No information is available concerning Mr. Hatefi’s defense.

Judgment

Mr. Hatefi was killed in 1983. He is buried at Khavaran cemetery. Most leftist persons who were executed and buried at Khavaran are buried as “unknown individuals” and the exact location of the grave is unknown to their families.

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