MY PEN CRIES OUT TO THE WORLD: IS THERE A FREEDOM LOVER IN THE WORLD WHO WILL HEED MY CALL FOR HELP?
My pen cries out to the world: Is there a freedom lover in the world who will heed my call for help
Respected Members of the European Union:
In the summer of 1999, the members of the European Union, via their diplomat's and businessmen, chose to condone the violations of human rights in Iran in return for the lucrative trade engagement with the [so called] reformist government of Khatami [the Islamic President]. At the same time, my brother [Akbar Mohammadi] and I, arrested as the primary and secondary provocateurs of the University Events of July 1999 [pro-democracy student demonstrations], were subjected to round the clock savagery and medieval tortures of the regime's Intelligence Ministry. These crushing tortures included:
- forced insomnia,
- seventeen hour daily interrogations,
- threats of execution by the interrogators and then head of the Tehran province Revolutionary tribunal,
- Forcing us to lay on our abdomens, tying our arms and feet to the bed, and flogging our soles with cable,
- hanging us by our feet from the ceiling, beating us on the head, face and abdomen with their fists and banging our heads against the walls.
(...) These tortures devastated the two of us so much as that when were moved to Evin Prison from the Tohid arrest house and Section 209 of the Intelligence Ministry, we had each lost 30 kilos of weight and we were unable to speak and communicate with other prisoners
(...) Regrettably, after the passage of three years of our imprisonment, Mr. Khatami, has not even once, expressed any support for us and other victims of the Tehran University demonstrations [of 1999]. Rather, in his speech in the summer of 1999, in which he presented us [the imprisoned students] as the culprits, he, illegally, paved the way for further suppression of all pro-democracy students and democrats...
You need to know that the vote of the Iranian people for Mr. Khatami, was not a yes to Khatami, but rather a massive yes to freedom and democracy and a massive no to the regime (...).
You need to know why I am imprisoned. My crimes are my:
-belief in democracy and non-violent struggle(...).
-I oppose any form of revenge and physical elimination of my opponents in my struggle to oppose any ethnic, racial, religious and gender based discrimination.
-work in organizing independent, non-governmental, non-religious, and national student movements(...).
-My opposition to any statement and slogan that wishes death for any country, person or group(...).
-belief in freedom of thought and my opposition to censorship and illegal interrogation (...).
-steadfastness over the last three years of imprisonment in refusing to admit guilt and refusing to repent for crimes [that I have not committed.
My refusal, more than to anyone else, has brought me the anger and vengeance of the conservative Judiciary authorities and has cost me the loss of temporary furloughs from prison.
Moreover, my refusal has cost me reversal of the appeals court reduction of my sentence from thirteen years to six years. There is no doubt that this letter will raise the ire of the regime's authorities. Thus, if you do not seriously work in my defense... I should make myself ready for the coming harsh acts of the regime. Faced with the reality of the [regime's] conspiracy to gradually kill me, regardless of my actions and inactions, my pen cries out to the world: is there a freedom lover in this world who will heed my call for help?
Manuchehr Mohammdi June 2002
English translation by About Iran. About Iran calls on all international human rights organizations to heed the call by Mr. Mohammadi and demand that the Islamic Republic to immediately release him and all other political prisoners. About Iran... P.O. Box 768 Morton Grove, IL 60053 Telephone: (847) 729-5925 Fax: (847) 729-5926 E-Mail: [email protected]