As the anniversary approaches for the most profound man made disaster that struck our nation in the past century, the 1979 revolution, I think that we should take a moment and remember some of its unfortunate victims. My cousin was one such victim. For the purposes of this narrative I will call him Omid.
He was one of my favorite cousins. His father, my dad’s brother was my father’s closest sibling, and consequently our families spent a lot of time together. We lived in different cities and spent summers with one another. We were very close.
It was some time in 80’s. The first news about his arrest came by phone. We had a frantic call from his family saying that “pasdars” had picked him up the night before as he was standing on a street corner waiting to meet one of his comrades. Apparently, he had recently become involved with a leftist organization (not MKO). He hadn’t done much…just a few meetings. It turns out though that one of the guys in the organization had been arrested, and under torture, had agreed to “cooperate” with the regime. So, he had been going around calling for meeting and rendezvous’ with everyone that he could think of, and then setting them up to be picked up by the regime’s agents. It was only a few days after Omid’s 17th birthday.
Time went on, and Omid remained in prison, without trial, without a court hearing and a lawyer…well, let’s not turn this into a comedy. Then the summer vacations came and we went to his city. The sad highlight of the trip was our anticipated trip to the prison to see Omid. We had to fool the guards into thinking that we were his siblings because those were the only people who were allowed to visit him. We arrived at the prison gate. It was an unbelievably sad scene. There were hundreds of crying, chador wearing mothers on top of one another, who were gathered in the dusty, unpaved entrance of the prison, holding out their “shenasmehs” and trying not to lose the rare opportunity of seeing their children. So, we held out our “shenasnamehs” also and convinced the machine gun holding pasdars that we were his brothers and sisters. It was pretty easy to fool them considering the chaotic scene there.
We got in and got a “hozoori” visit. That meant that we could actually sit down with him in a corner of the prison, as opposed to having to speak to him through a phone and from behind a screen. We weren’t really free to talk, though, as there was a pasdar standing next to us and listening to the whole conversation.
Omid was ecstatic to see us. He said he missed us…missed spending summers with us. Considering that this was another summer, and then seeing him there…it was just too emotional. We talked about soccer. His sister quietly, and in codes, asked him if he was being “harmed”, i.e., tortured. He smiled and didn’t answer. We had another visit with him and then left the city. His parents were concerned that he was getting “hozori” visits, because they had heard that “hozoori” visits were given to the prisoners who were going to be executed. Perhaps it was mullahs’ sick definition of “compassion”.
Three months later, the shocking news came via a phone call. Omid’s parents had gone to visit him at the prison for their regular weekly visits, and had taken some homemade food for him too…but were told at the gate that they should go to “shahrdari”, i.e., the morgue…to “retrieve” him. He had been hanged with a crane that morning…
What follows is a description of Omid’s final hours according to a cellmate who was later released.
The night before his execution, someone from the prison’s clinic had come to collect Omid and a few other prisoners. A couple of hours later, Omid was brought back to the cell. He was tried and sits down, holding his forehead. He tells the cellmate “they didn’t leave a drop of blood in my body. I don’t know how many bags of blood they took, but it was more than one, may be three. I’m tired and can’t stand up.” He lies down, and goes to sleep from apparent exhaustion. A few hours later, about 4:00 am, names begin to be called in the prison’s intercom, the ominous sign of executions. Everyone wakes up in terror and quietly listens to see if tonight is their night. Omid’s name is called. He turns to the cellmate, nods and says this last sentence: “please tell my mother not to cry”. He then sheds a few tears. The guards come and take him away…He was still 17.
It turns out that they were drawing the blood of the executees a few hours before their execution and were sending the blood to the war front to be used for the war wounded. They would leave just enough in the body for them to survive the few hours before their execution.
Omid was one of the tens, or hundreds of thousands who have been victims of this inhuman, anti-Iranian regime. A regime that has made death the cheapest commodity in our homeland since it cast its dark cloud of ignorance, backwardness and violence over our ancient nation. And a regime that wont hesitate to continue its murderous ways just so that it could remain in power. But its victims, the Iranian people, will not allow it to do so. May this 22 Bahman be their last.
Recently by Anonymous Observer | Comments | Date |
---|---|---|
The 1979 Devolution Was The Perfect Fit For Iranians | 72 | Nov 24, 2012 |
Bring Dr. Mohandes & Vildemose Back!!! | 31 | Nov 08, 2012 |
Iranian.com, David Duke or "Storm Front?" | 66 | Oct 12, 2012 |
Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
Crimes against humanity
by Onlyiran on Thu Feb 11, 2010 08:41 AM PSTI am late to this blog, and just read it. It's heart wrenching. May all these animals be tried for crimes against humanity in a free Iran. Let's just hope that their miserable lives don't end from natural causes before they see justice.
delete
by AsteroidX on Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:38 PM PSTdelete
AO jan
by Nur-i-Azal on Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:33 AM PSTMy how the world gets smaller! Drop me a line...
Nur-i-Azal & Yolanda
by Anonymous Observer on Wed Feb 10, 2010 09:22 AM PSTNur: Sorry for getting the name wrong, but now I remember "Sarkar Agha". In fact, I recall seeing his picture, framed, and with a black ribbon across the corner, in the home of our Shaykhi relatives after his murder. It's sad. He was yet another victim of Khomeini's religious fascism.
I actually checked with my father after reading your comment, since he knows the family and the events better. He too believes that Sarkar Agha was executed on Khomeini's direct orders. My father also reminded me of another interesting fact: our Shaykhi relatives are from Kerman originally. You may be related!
Yolanda: Thanks for posting the article. It was an interesting read.
.....
by yolanda on Wed Feb 10, 2010 06:11 AM PSTHi! AO,
I found the LA Times article saying that Rahim Mashaei was a prison interrogator, the segment is on page 2:
//articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/25/world/fg-iran25
Here is the excerpt from the LA Times article:
"Qalibaf said Mashaei's wife is a former member of the group and the two met in prison, where he was her interrogator. A source close to the Mashaei family confirmed that, saying that she had been sentenced to hang when he proposed to marry her to save her from the gallows."
******************
I have a pretty good memory when it comes to this type of increidible story!
AO jan
by Nur-i-Azal on Tue Feb 09, 2010 03:46 PM PSTNo, you are not mistaken. That is what happened. The Kirman Komiteh murdered the Sarkar Agha Ibrahimi and several of his family members in mid '79 in a raid on their house in Kirman apparently on Khomeini's direct orders. These were our relatives. The rest of the immediate family of the Ibrahimi clan went into hiding and then left Iran altogether. Some went back in the late '90s when Khatami became president and then left again over the last few years.
Nur-i-Azal, Samad Agha & Yolanda
by Anonymous Observer on Tue Feb 09, 2010 07:39 AM PSTYolanda: Thank you for the very interesting information about Rahim Mashai. I did not know that he was an Evin interrogator. It does not surprise me, though. A I mentioned below, the IRI is a mafia style organization, and for anyone to get anywhere in that type of an organization, he must show absolute loyalty, which often times means that he has to be involved in the ultimate criminal act, murder.
Samad Agha: Thank you for your thoughts.
NUR: Am I mistaken in thinking that Khomeini executed the spiritual leader of the Shaykhi sect (was it Agha Khan?)?
جناب آقای انانیموس آبسرور
Samad_AghaTue Feb 09, 2010 05:50 PM PST
از ته قلب این دهاتی تسلیت مو رو بپذیرین. آن جوان شادروان پیوسته به گروه از ما بهتران. آخرین باری که اشک به چشُم آمده بود سر خاک آقام بود. دفعهٔ پیشش هم موقعی که آقا مشت و مالمان میداد. خدا به شما قوت بده و به آن اجانب فهم و شعور.
....
by yolanda on Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:19 PM PSTHI! AO,
Thank you for your last post. I watched some execution videos on IC and I noticed that a lot of executioners wear ugly ski masks.....I have a feeling that executioners know they have a dirty job & they fear for their own safety, so they don't want to be identified! Last year, I read on Wikipedia that 2 Evin Prison wardens were assassinated.....I am not surprised 'cause too many people got executed in Evin......some people wanted to get even!
Last year, I read in LA Times that Rahim Mashaei (his daughter married AN's son) met his wife in jail......initially I thought maybe the 2 were inmates in jail and somehow developed "Chemistry" at their most difficult time in life......I was totally wrong...according to LA Times. Rahim Mashaei was a prison interrogator, he even interrogated his wife..... his wife (when she was still single) was an MKO member sentenced to be hanged.....Rahim Mashaei managed to propose to the lady and her life is spared & he married her......the whole thing is creepy 'cause I wonder how many women, who got interrogated by Rahim Mashaei, had to face the gallows, just because Rahim Mashaei did not hit on them!
AO
by Nur-i-Azal on Mon Feb 08, 2010 09:28 PM PSTNur: I know all about IRI, and (Khomeini's personal) vendetta against the Shaykhi sect. We have relatives who are Shaykhis.
Small world ;-)
The executioners are IRI's current leaders
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 08:59 PM PSTWhen I look at the IRI "elite" of today, I can't help but wonder how these characters moved up the ranks of the IRI mafia to be where they are today. IRI is nothing but an organized crime operation, and just like any other crime syndicate, one does not move up the ranks until he has shown absolute loyalty, which often means committing the most hideous act: murder.
What do you think "Radan" or Ismael Ahmadi Moghadam" have done to qualify them to be "police chiefs" ? Or what do you think Jaffari has done to qualify him to be the head of the IRGC? These criminals most likely started out as prison guards, firing squad members or execution truck operators. They have done the deeds that have earned them the jobs that they have today. Do you really think that the guy who was putting groups of people against the wall every night and was puling the trigger on them has quietly retired? Of course not. A murderer does not retire. They are the police chiefs and IRGC commanders and cabinet ministers, people like the ones that I mentioned above, and Larijani (former IRGC "commander", and even Ahmadinejad himself who was also an IRGC member.
So, next time you see one of these characters on TV, look carefully. You are probably looking at the face of the person who walked Omid to the prison clinic to have his blood drained before he was killed, or the guard who raped a young girl before she was killed so that she doesn't "die a virgin", or the person who pushed the button on the crane to pull another Omid up to his death, or the thug who put an innocent teenage child against a wall on a cold night and pulled a trigger while shouting "Allah-o-Akbar".
Oktaby and divaneh
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 08:43 PM PSTOktaby: Thanks for the links. Powerful testimonials. We should absolutely not forget. Those brave souls who dies in IRI's dark dungeons should not become statistics and numbers. Their stories must be told and their lives must be celebrated. Thank you.
Divaneh Jaan: They are Iranian. They are the dark side, and the evil, of our society. We still need conciliation to move forward. We must move forward as a nation. But justice must also be served. Those responsible for planning these mass murders, and those involved in their execution must be brought to justice so that our society can have closure. That is if they don't all disappear in Syria and South Lebanon before justice can get to them. Even if they do, we should be relentless and hunt them down. I'll leave another comment about who I think the executioners are. Thank you for your thoughts.
MRX and Tahirih, COP, Mona and Fatollah
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 08:45 PM PSTMRX1: the creatures that you refer to are zealous ideologues. That's how they deal with this inhumanity. They see nothing but ideology, and they justify everything in for the sake of advancing that ideology. They will burn every Iranian alive if that somehow results in "defeating the imperialist".
Tahirih, COP, Mona and Fatollah: Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and blessings.
Ebi Jaan
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 08:31 PM PSTSepass for this beautiful poem. Sorry for your losses. As I said before, there's hardly a family in Iran that has not been touched by this regime's brutality. It's as if their sole mission in life was to take revenge of Iranians for Khomeini's miserable life.
Thanks again.
I am so sorry for our Iran and Iranians.
by Tahirih on Mon Feb 08, 2010 05:29 PM PSTDear Anonymous observer:
Thanks for sharing, it was so hard to read it though ,I have a son around that age, my God.....
I have to say that taking his young blood was the hardest part of his story.I have images of these monsters sitting and drinking his blood in their caves!!
May God keep your cousin's soul in light and joy, and give peace to his parents.
Take care,
Tahirih
Rouhesh Shaad
by divaneh on Mon Feb 08, 2010 05:23 PM PSTDear AO, the story of your cousin was heart wrenching. Will we ever come to a national reconciliation with such despicable crimes committed against our loved ones, with so much meaningless killings of innocents. Who are these? Iranians?
AO, kafer & najes was just the start
by oktaby on Mon Feb 08, 2010 05:08 PM PSTand perhpas we best review and rememeber, often, lest we forget & get lazy after a set back or two:
//iranian.com/main/blog/oktaby/unbearable-lightness-being
OKtaby
I feel your pain
by MRX1 on Mon Feb 08, 2010 04:42 PM PSTas my family went through the same ordeal. I often wonder coalition of lefties and liberals in west who are bonified islamo facist appeasers ever hear about these events? and if so what goes on through their dead brain? and what will take to wake them up and join the effort to get rid of these roaches.
AO jon
by Cost-of-Progress on Mon Feb 08, 2010 03:54 PM PSTThanks for sharing Omid's story. Let's hope that Omid and countless other young Persians did not die in vain since the shameful take over of the Ommaties.
____________
IRAN FIRST
____________
Anon Jaan
by ebi amirhosseini on Mon Feb 08, 2010 03:53 PM PSTAn uncle ,retrieved his bullet ridden body from the morgue,Now Ruz 1358.Buried two cousins,killed in the war,1360-62.I share your pain,Roohash shaad.
به جست و جوی تو
بر درگاه ِ کوه میگریم،
در آستانه دریا و علف.
به جستجوی تو
در معبر بادها می گریم
در چار راه فصول،
در چار چوب شکسته پنجره ئی
که آسمان ابر آلوده را
قابی کهنه می گیرد.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
به انتظار تصویر تو
این دفتر خالی
تاچند
تا چند
ورق خواهد زد؟
***
جریان باد را پذیرفتن
و عشق را
که خواهر مرگ است.-
و جاودانگی
رازش را
با تو درمیان نهاد.
پس به هیئت گنجی در آمدی:
بایسته وآزانگیز
گنجی از آن دست
که تملک خاک را و دیاران را
از این سان
دلپذیر کرده است!
***
نامت سپیده دمی است که بر پیشانی آفتاب می گذرد
- متبرک باد نام تو -
و ما همچنان
دوره می کنیم
شب را و روز را
هنوز را...
Ebi aka Haaji
chie begam! Yaadash geraami.
by Fatollah on Mon Feb 08, 2010 03:24 PM PSTchie begam! Yaadash geraami.
...
by Mona 19 on Mon Feb 08, 2010 01:32 PM PSTروح آن عزیز شاد و قرین آرامش ابدی باد
مونا
Javadagha
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 02:53 PM PSTtasleyyat to you and your family as well. This regime has left no Iranian untouched in grief in one way or the other.
Tasleeyat
by Javadagha on Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:53 PM PSTTasleeyat for your cousin.
One of my family members, who was married and had two children (1 year and 3 years) was executed by IRI. He was about 24 years old. His parents were called to come and get his belongings. We do not know where he was buried. He was in a group of about 4,000 people when they were gassed in the early 1358.
Thank you all again
by Anonymous Observer on Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:50 PM PSTall who left comments after my last comment.
Shepesh: you ask how could one do this to a child? The answer is simple: dehumanizing your victim.
Dehumanization is the first step to mass murder. The Nazis did it by reducing their victims to subhuman, and a collection of files, stamps and paperwork. The IRI is doing it by calling them "mohareb" and enemy of God who are "najes", and therefore, subhuman. That's how they can be treated like animals in a slaughterhouse--where "nothing should go to waste"--and their blood is collected for future use. Trust me, if they had the technology to attach limbs, they would have cut off their arms and legs and used it for the war amputees.
I read a book some time ago by a former IRI prisoner, and he had mentioned an interesting point. He wrote that when prisoners were being moved from one side of the prison to the other, they would blindfold them and line them up, with the prisoner putting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. There would be a pasdar is the front of the line. But the prisoner wouldn't be allowed to touch him and vice versa. The pasdar would hold one end of a stick and the person in front of the line would hold the other end, and the pasdar would guide them. That's because the pasdars believed that the prisoners were "kafars" and therefore, "najes", and should not be touched. There's only one more step from this situation, and that is to eliminate the "najes" being. See the dehumanization process?
There will be restitution for your cousin & countless others
by oktaby on Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:10 PM PSTCivility yes, law yes. But no justice, no peace.
Lets get out there and get rid of them first.
OKtaby
.
by Shepesh on Tue Mar 08, 2011 07:26 AM PST.
god bless you
by shushtari on Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:57 AM PSTand your cousin......may he enjoy heaven for eternity...
this goes to prove, once again, that the akhoonds are the worst scum on earth....pure evil, with NO respect or compassion for human life.
this is why the shah should have eliminated khomeini, rafsanjani, khayenei, etc in the 60s and 70s before they took over our nation....
now, the liberal lefties may say that I'm just like the mullahs for advocating violence...
but the reality is that threats to national security should be eliminated...when a looney like khomeini tries to start mayhem in 1963, he should have been taken care of
imagine what iran would be like today, had they left us alone....omid would likely be alive, along with hundreds of thousands of other iranians.
javid iran........here's to freedom in 2010
So many lives lost
by masoudA on Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:10 AM PSTThese tragic stories are why IR can not just give up - so much innocent blood on their hands - we must defeat them, and we shall.
Heart-wrenchingly Tragic
by Monda on Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:33 AM PSTDear Anonymous Observer, my heart sincerely goes out to you and Omid's loved ones. Another lost angel I read about today.