Shocking letter of a young protester after his release. “I know what I’m writing is like the stories in the book, but I experienced it closely.”
Shocking letter of a young protester after his release. “I know what I’m writing is like the stories in the book, but I experienced it closely.”
After being released from detention, a young protester in a letter, a copy of which he sent to the “Iranian Human Rights society”, mentioned some of crimes committed against him and other detained youths during his detention.
Read parts of this young protester’s letter here
“We were a large crowd, and we shouting slogans, they threw tear gas and crowd dispersed. They had already deployed uniformed forces inside alleys. So that when people run away, they can attack them in the alleys and arrest them. I and a few others entered an alley and when we reached tothe end of alley, some plainclothes shot us with a gun. It was a shotgun and a few bullets hit my leg and I fell it , luckily others could escape, and only I was arrested.
They beat me , and a few minutes later a white Samand car came and picked me up and took me away. Inside car, they kicked and punched me so much that I wished we could get to the place sooner! But I didn’t know that these blows are nothing against what they are going to do to me!
I was blindfolded and did not know where we were going. After about 15 minutes we arrived, they took me into a room where several other youth were also there. Some of them had lost so much blood that they were unconscious, and officials did not take care of them. It was clear that they would like them to die.
Conditions of some youth were so bad that I had completely forgotten pain of bullets, punches and kicks I had received. I wanted to go and knock on the door for someone to come for help. But one of youth stopped me and said everyone, who knocked at the door, officials taken him and beaten a lot.
The situation was so bad that I don’t know how to describe it. But seeing the youth , who were taking care of each other made me feel so good . One of the youth , whose toe was crushed by officials boot, began to take care of my foot. I know it is like the stories in the book, but I experienced it really.
We were all asleep when they came and took 3 of the youth. After a few minutes they came again and took a few others, including me. They took me to an interrogation room and put me on a chair. After a few minutes, a tall man came in and had some white papers in his hand. You write yours here and if I come in an hour and you haven’t written all the things which I say, I will make trouble for you so that your family won’t be able to recognize you!
Another part of the letter of protester
I didn’t know what to write and had gone to the street alone and I didn’t even have a nail clipper with me. I wrote that I have no relationship with anyone and I just chanted a few slogans on the street and didn’t even kick the trash can. It took almost half an hour and he came back again , he looked at the paper and angrily said the worst obscenities to my family and then left the room and two people came into the room and beat me as much.
After beating me, they put me on the chair again and the interrogator came back . And threatened that if you don’t tell me your name, address and where you are connected, you will be beaten until you die! I knew that if I wrote what they wanted, I would have to spend several years in prison.
What they did to me and others, some people couldn’t bear it and wrote things for them just satisfy them and stop beating.
I thought it was over and we should wait for them to send us to prison and then file a case and go to court. But they kept us for four nights and did not let us to sleep. We transferred four days ago and beaten so humiliatingly that we were happy at least we are going to prison!
There were hard days, but I never once felt regret that I fought for the freedom of my country. And I will continue to fight even if I know that these torments will repeat again.
About nationwide protests
The recent nationwide protests started with the death of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl from Saqqez, arrested on evening of Tuesday, 13 September 1401. She arrested near the Haqqani metro station by the Irshad patrol under the pretext of wearing a veil. And died of blows to her head in Kasra hospital.
These protests started since then and have been going on for more than two months. In these protests, people are demanding the overthrow of entire ruling system and the establishment of security, freedom, and democracy.
During these protests, more than 492 people, including 61 children, died. And more than 20,000 people (according to government statistics) arrested.
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