Posted on 02/13/2005 11:53:43 AM PST by Khashayar
''Excuse me, Miss, but here in my hand I have a warrant for your arrest," said a middle-aged man with a few days' growth of beard. "Please do not make any noise as you walk calmly to the Mercedes parked at the corner."
When the man approached me, I had just left a bookstore. It crossed my mind to resist, but I thought better of it.
In the car, I was flanked by two broad-shouldered men in black jackets. The man with the arrest warrant drove up Enqelab Avenue and waved the arrest warrant to assure me they were not kidnappers. "We are from the judiciary branch, and everything will be done within the framework of Islamic law," he said. "Do not worry. The whole thing should not last more than a couple of hours."
I was annoyed but relieved, and not especially surprised. Arrest and interrogation of anyone who writes stories critical of the regime has become commonplace in Iran. I am a blogger, and I have written often and honestly about life in my country, so it's an occupational hazard.
When we arrived at our destination, I was left standing outside with the late December sun penetrating the blindfold they had insisted I wear. The cold and fresh air suggested northern Tehran, which meant Evin, the most notorious prison. I stood there for about half an hour, my calf muscles aching.
"Excuse me, how long do you think I will be kept here?" I asked the next person who spoke to me.
"It depends on you," he replied. "If you cooperate, it will be brief."
I was led down a spiral staircase. A woman with a velvet voice asked me to strip and handed me a prison uniform. "But they told me it won't be more than a few hours."
I was photographed and asked my height, weight, eye color and the number of children I have. "I am single," I said. All this was humiliating.
"That's why you are making trouble for our system," the woman said. "If you were married, you would not have time to write such nonsense."
I was led to a cell, and a heavy, solid metal door was closed and locked. The cell was about 12 feet by 12 feet, with a small sink. The walls were blank, a recently painted cream color. Two gray blankets were folded on the floor. The ceiling was barred. Guards peeped in through a hole in the door every 20 minutes or so. I curled myself in a blanket. I had been expected home at noon. What do they want from me?
On my second day in confinement, I asked a guard, "Do you know why I am here?"
"I don't know," she replied. "Your interrogator will tell you."
The next day, I was taken to a room down a long corridor and told to sit down. A fat hand with an agate stone ring set an interrogation form in front of me. Then he began asking about my Web log, which has hyperlinks on it to Western feminist groups.
"Do you accept the charges?" the interrogator asked.
"What charges?"
"That you have written things in your Web log that go against the Islamic system and that encourage people to topple the system," he said. "You are inviting corrupt American liberalism to rule Iran."
"I've tried to write my ideas and opinions in my Web log and to communicate with others in Farsi all over the world," I said.
He was displeased. "These answers will lead us nowhere, and you will stay here for years. Tell us the truth. How much have you received to write these offenses against the Islamic state? How are you and your fellow Web loggers organized?"
How should I respond? I knew my mother must be terribly worried about me. What could I say to make sure I got out? "We are not organized against the state," I said. "I write because I want to criticize the system. There are some things in our state that should be corrected."
"Why don't you write an e-mail directly to the supreme leader's office?" he asked. "The supreme leader considers all criticisms and takes corrective actions."
"I hadn't thought about that," I said. This was nonsense, of course, but I saw an opening. "From now on, I will write directly to the supreme leader and stop writing in my Web log."
"It is too late for that," he said.
Back in my cell, I sobbed. After a while, the door opened.
"You can ask for the holy Quran to chant and pass your time better here," the gray-haired matron suggested.
In the next session, four days later, I confessed to many of the accusations against me. As a reward, I was allowed to talk to my mother in the presence of my interrogator.
Over the days that followed, I confessed to many things, including having had sex with my boyfriend, who has his own Web log. The admission filled me with guilt, both for having to discuss such intimate details and for having betrayed him. He is now complicit in the crime of extramarital sex.
I remained in prison for 36 days. Now I am awaiting trial.
On my release I was reminded, "Be thankful to God that we arrested you. If you had been detained by the intelligence department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, they would surely have beaten you. Here you were our guest."
Before I departed I was politely asked to fill out a form seeking suggestions for improving conditions in the jail.
Farzami is the pseudonym of an Iranian journalist.
ping
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I've got ten bucks here that says this story is fake. It's just too stupid. |
why do you think it is fake?
Have you ever been asked about your comments you made on Clinton?
Have you ever been beaten for being with a girl out in the park?
I THINK IT IS YOU WHO IS FAKE, not that miserable people fighting for the very basic freedom you took for granted in the US.
Have you ever been chased by security forces? DO you know what it means to walk in the streets for hours cuz you have no where to go and hide?
And this story is not fake... the person's name who was arrested is FERESHTEH GHAZI
do a google search or check RSF.org website.
Admirable presentation. "I have written often and honestly about life in my country." Exactly. The presentation could not be more clearly honest and factual, leaving the reader to fill in the dots.
Iran is an old civilization, and even here you can see that the arresting officials and others are civilized in comparison with the way such an arrest would have gone under Saddam. But they have been turned toward evil ends because of the master they serve.
I think Iran can become a civilized nation again, if only the regime of the Mullahs can be thrown off. That can only be done, short of an invasion, by the Iranians themselves, but I trust we are willing to help and encourage an internal revolution in any way that we can.
I hope that they get their wish and drive the Mullahs out.
RE: FWD: Fwd: re: FWD: fwd: RE: FWD: Fwd: re: FWD: fwd: RE: FWD: Fwd: re: FWD: fwd:
Is that wise to give her proper name? Are the Iranian authorities aware that she wrote this piece after her arrest? If there's any doubt whatever, I suggest that you ask the Admin Moderator to delete the reply where you give her real name.
Not anymore.
rsf knows her
Sorry, I did a Google search for FERESHTEH GHAZI and I see there are already numerous articles out there, so the identify of the writer is known in Iran.
To think that the liberal cry babies like Ward Churchill call America a fascist state while they support a place like Iran is totally ridiculous.They are the worst kind of hypocrite who condemns America while using its freedoms and protections to pay their respects to dictators and thugs who are the real fascists.If only we could switch the Ward Churchill's of America with the people who suffer real injustice in places like Iran could we right a wrong.These liberals don't deserve to live in such a great country.
exactly
Send Ward to Iran to practice his freedom and then we will see if he keeps saying BS or not
Do you think RSF can help her? Is she still in Iran?
I like your comments, you are wise like CICERO.
Thanks
I do know that she is Iran.
Thanks.
I hope the masqueraders will leave her alone.
The day that the Ward Churchill story broke I received my copy of David Horowitz's latest book, "Unholy Alliance". I am only half-way through it, but feel safe in recommending it. (I frist heard of the book on FR). Horowitz directly tears Noam Chomsky a new one - along with many other noted left wingers and anarchists. A very timely book. You can find reviews (as well a used copies) on Amazon.
She may face long term jail
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