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Surviving Torture in Iran

By possum

In an interview with 60 Minutes Ahmad Batebi tells his tale of woe in Iran.  The story begins with Batebi's holding the bloody shirt of his friend who was shot during 1999 demonstrations against the government.

After helping his friend, Batebi returned to the protest, and waved the bloody shirt to show what police had done. That's when a photographer took a picture of Batebi that would appear on the cover of The Economist and was seen around the world. Just days after the picture appeared, the government arrested him.

CBS News image

After being taken to a special prison for intelligence, Batebi was held in solitary confinement and often blindfolded.  After several months he was shown a copy of the picture on a magazine cover and told he had disgraced the nation and would be put to death as a result.

Batebi says he spent 17 months in solitary confinement, trapped in a tiny cell not much bigger than a bathtub. "They kept the light on 24 hours a day. You have no information about the outside. You have no contact with the outside, and after a while you become mentally disoriented. This kind of torture doesn't affect you physically, but it does affect you mentally and emotionally."

The government continues to deny the torture of prisoners held in Iran but various organizations have documented the mistreatment of many.  The public exposure of Batebi in the picture may be the reason he lives today.

Batebi's death sentence was reduced to 15 years, but after nine years he began having seizures. Last spring he was released temporarily for medical treatment. That's when he decided to make a run for it, documenting his three day journey from Tehran to Iraq on his cell phone camera.

Asked about his thoughts today Batebi said

I don't feel free. I have a responsibility to the people imprisoned in Iran whose human rights are being violated. I have to get their message out. And it's a big responsibility that doesn't leave one free. But to an extent I do feel free. I live in a free country and I've left prison.

Peace.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).