Iran 303

Facing the Crackdown in Tehran

Tuesday 30 June 2009

by: Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t | Report

Riots and protests continue in Iran.

An air of fear and uncertainty continues to grip the population of Tehran. State repression, propaganda, swirling rumors of violence and a murky political battle hold an anxious citizenry hostage.

Were declarations of a second Iranian revolution premature? Are we witnessing an overthrow of a theocratic government, sparked by possible election theft and a subsequent popular protest movement? Will there be further protest? More violence? Will a new government be formed, bringing openness and international cooperation, or will the hardliners win and push Iran further into isolation and toward war? These are questions for later.

Aamina, a young Iranian woman who continues to risk her safety to speak with Truthout, faces immediate concerns as she visits her family in Tehran during the city's post-election upheaval. Her name has been changed and identifying details are being withheld to try and keep her safe.

"Lately we have seen the Basij [militia] blocking some streets at night, stopping cars, especially those with young male drivers for a search. This kind of stopping used to be very common for late night party people. They used to look for alcohol, or they used to arrest girls because of the way they were dressed up, but now they look for anything Green or anything that has a sign that you support the movement."

The Basij militia and the Revolutionary Guard troops understand the current unrest as a direct threat to their survival. These forces, tasked with protecting the current regime from foreign armies and internal destabilization, have gained power under current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Their forces have administered countless beatings to protesters. A Basiji gunman is said to have been responsible for the shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan.

Aamina was choked with fear as she approached one of these checkpoints. "[Saturday] I was out with some friends. We were passing one of these check-points. They did not stop us but if they would have, I would be in jail. My camera was with me, full of pictures from previous protests, and also a video of the Guards."

The threat of jail or any interaction with the Basij militia could mean harassment, beating or even disappearance. Hundreds and possibly thousands of protesters, journalists, and others have been seized in the days following the June 12 voting.

Some of the prisoners have allegedly been coerced into making televised confessions of anti-government conspiracy, according to Amnesty International and press reports.

British freelance reporter Angus McDowall recently reported on the conditions inside the complicated Iranian detention system, describing the conditions as "torturous."

"Kianoosh Sanjari was seized by plainclothes revolutionary guardsmen after a protest in 2002, he was beaten up in the back of the car on his way to the police station and his front tooth was broken. His thumbs were tied behind his back, he was blindfolded; his head was shaved (a sign of shame) and, after days in solitary confinement, he was taken before a revolutionary court. He was transferred to Prison 59, a military security facility at a revolutionary guards barracks in Tehran. For three months he was held alone in a cell too small to allow him to stretch out. Wardens mocked him for the amount of weight - about 20kg - he lost," McDowall reported.

Aamina fears for the prisoners who have been arrested since the recent protests began. The protesters face a legal system and a harsh prosecutor tasked with protecting the current governing structure.

"Said Mortazavi is the Public Prosecutor of Tehran. He has been on many cases and he will have the power to do anything to punish these so-called 'rebels against the Islamic government.' Zahra Kazemi was an Iranian reporter, who has been living in Canada for many years and came to Tehran to do a report on the prisoner's situations in Iran. She was arrested right in front of Evin Prison, which many political prisoners spent their time there, with an excuse that she broke the law and she was not supposed to take any pictures in front of the prison. She was interrogated and she was taken to the hospital during the interrogation. Nurses reported that her body was beaten, and after few days she died because of a hit in her head. Mortazavi was the prosecutor of the case and there were reports of him being present when she was beaten. Many even said that Mortazavi gave the order for beating her. Despite all controversy, no one questioned him and he never explained anything," Aamina said.

In an interview with Truthout, University of Minnesota anthropology Professor William O. Beeman, a renowned Middle East expert, said that Mortazavi "is a hard liner, associated with the interrogation and death of Zahra Kazemi. In his hands, indictment and conviction of protesters could be very harsh."

Arrested protesters do have hope in navigating the legal system according to Beeman, because the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahroodi, is a reformer who previously placed a moratorium on public stonings and other extreme treatment.

"All convictions in Iran may be appealed, and Shahroodi has been known to intervene," Beeman said.

Zie: http://www.truthout.org/063009A