South Azerbaijani political prisoners talk about horrors they faced in Iranian prisons – Horrors of prison
“They removed my tongue, when they saw I did not speak”
“They spread quince oil on my body and set rats on me”
Baku. Konul Jafarli – APA. “I was made to stand for 18 hours. They didn’t allow me sleeping for days. Iranian regime doesn’t make differences between woman and man. There was a political prisoner, Farida. She also faced tortures. They detain national activists together with criminals and drug addicts at the same prison. Political prisoners face life threats every day. They face inhuman tortures and are forced to keep a fast. They didn’t allow eating for days. Political prisoners are waiting for execution. If the prisoner had no money, he would die from starvation”, former Iranian Azerbaijani prisoner Elchin Hatemi, who was born in 1979 in Sarijali village of Arazbar (Khudaferin) province and has been living in political exile in Turkey since 2009, said in his interview with APA.
Elçin Hatemi said he took master’s degree from Tehran University. “I am an engineer. Together with other national activists, we conducted the civil and healthy struggle for the protection of the rights of Azerbaijanis in Iran. We were holding scientific conferences in Tabriz and Tehran, organizing rallies to Babek Fortress and calling on our nation to be more active in this struggle. Although our actions were based on international law and held in the civil order I was arrested for 4 times. For the last time, I was detained in 2008. I was kept in Ettelaat’s bureau in Tabriz, Evin prison in Tehran, city and common jails of Tabriz. I was being accused of panturkism, propaganda against the Iranian regime, working for the interests of foreign countries, organizing coup d’Etat”.
Hatemi said he witnessed all methods of tortures. “They use different methods of torture against the political prisoners: burn with cigarettes, break arms and legs, pull nails, threaten with death, hit with electric shock and beat to unconsciousness and etc. A healthy human can go out of mind from these tortures. I heard cries of my friends when I was in Ettelaat. One of my friends suffered from heart attack as a result of electric shock. They douched him with cold water in the winter and kept him awake for 20 days. They broke teeth and ribs of my other friend”.
Hatemi said they detained them together with prisoners infected with AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. “They intended to infect us and also to convince the world that they have no political prisoners. AIDS, hepatitis, drug trading are widely spread in the prisons. At least 70 percent of prisoners forcibly became drug addicts. After releasing from jails, some former political prisoners were killed in road accidents and by other methods. Our compatriots held peaceful actions during the events in May, 2006. More than one hundred people were shot dead during the actions”.
Babek Mughanli, born in 1965 in Mughan and living now in political exile in the Republic of Azerbaijan, told APA that he was arrested many times for the poems he composed. “I was detained for three years in the prisons of Ardabil, Tabriz, Mughan (Parsabad). My family was unaware of my conditions for almost 6 months. According to fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, in the first years of 1979 revolution, prisoners could be tortured to death during the interrogation and the investigator, who killed prisoner during the interrogation, will not be questioned after life”.
Mughanli spoke about the tortures he faced: “There are torture rooms in prison. They beat me with cables until unconsciousness in Mughan jail. My body was in bursting injuries. After the beating they tortured me with salted and cold water, which increased pains. These tortures were repeated. All prisoners face such tortures”.
He said he was beaten in prison in 1981, his arm and two ribs were broken. “They awoke us in midnight and took to the false trial and then as if we were sentenced to death they shot over our head saying that it was joke and then returned us to the jail. They implement moral tortures against the prisoners. It was entertainment for them”.
Mughanli said they were kept together with the prisoners sentenced to death in 1982-83. “Every morning we were hearing shots. Every day they were executing someone, 10-15 prisoners were executed every day in Evin prisoner. Sometime they executed innocent people mistakenly. Sheikh Sadig Khalkhali issued fatwa that who was executed mistakenly he would go to paradise”.
Political migrant Navid Sultani, who was born in Urmia in 1986 and has been living in Turkey since March 2011, said that in 2007, they were going to celebrate anniversary of the National Government established by Said Jafar Peshavari: “We have prepared an announcement for this ceremony in Urmia with my friends. On the announcement we wrote the information about Peshavari and the congratulation on the anniversary of the National Government. Before distributing the announcements to the population, “Ettelaat” officers surrounded my house in the evening at 21.00 and arrested me. They found 4000 announcements during search. That day they arrested my 6 friends too. They carried us to “Ettelaat”. After questioning they told me: “Why do you speak about that side – this side? Even though you don’t know, why do you strive for and believe that side? If you are interested in the North Azerbaijan, we can send you at our expense, go for a walk, get a rush. If you want we can educate you there. But have off these minds”.
There is an officer in Urmia department of “Ettelaat” by surname Vakili. The National activists arrested in our city know him very well. Despite he is Azerbaijani Turk, he tortures all political prisoners. They have kept me in dark room for 25 days. We didn’t see a light. I didn’t know whether it is morning or evening. The meal was 4-5 boiled peas. Now there is Hasan Asadi who is living in the US. They tortured him for many times by pulling out his nails. Even he spoke himself that he didn’t believe that he was alive, he thought that he died. Besides I had an uncle by name Gulamhuseyn Rustami. Though he was a doctor, he was repeatedly arrested for his national activity. They burnt his back and legs with an iron. They carried him to Evin prison in his last detention. He was killed there violently. They didn’t give us his body. We didn’t know when and how he was buried up to now”.
Political migrant born in Tehran in 1969 and living in Denmark Ahmad Gashgai said that they help rallies in Tehran when the Karabakh war started: “We demanded Iran to open corridor, the refugees moving from Karabakh to come to us. Why couldn’t we support our brothers even if there are 4 mln Afghan and 1 mln Kurdish refugees in Iran? I also joined these rallies. Then I went to the war in Karabakh in 1993. I fought in Kalbajar. I returned home after 6 months and was arrested. I have been in Shiraz and Isfahan prisons for 10 months. I saw many tortures. They were beating me, I was sweating, then they gave two injections to my vein, hit with an electric shock. After the current, my hair, brow, hairs in on the arms iced. They didn’t allow me to sleep night and day. They have kept me for 16 days in the place which’s height is 16 meters. I could only sit, when I was standing up my head was touching the ceiling. My toilet and food were also there. They spread quince oil on my body and set rats on me. There was no place on my body which was not snapped by the rats. The other torture was they dressed wide trousers to me, put a cat into it and threw the water. A cat was scratching when it touched the water. I was 75 kg when I was arrested, my weight has decreased to 42 during the 10 months. The worse was that they showed me to my mother. They tortured also the other political activists. A man doesn’t know himself, thinks that he went mad. The torturers think that they fulfill Islam’s order because they were convinced by name of religion that the more you torture the easier you will go to Heaven. I run when they were carrying me to Tehran prison.
Political migrant born in Tabriz in 1963 and living in the Republic of Azerbaijan A. Tabrizli bought books in Azerbaijani language related to the North Azerbaijan from the organization named “Iran-Soviet Society” functioning in Tehran: “They attacked my house in 1981 in the evening at 23.00 and arrested me, seized my books. “Ettelaat” was not formed at that time, there as a Revolutionary Committee. They have kept me there for two nights, then carried to the “Evin” prison. I have been in prison for 18 months. We were hearing the torture voices of the prisoners. My roommate in the prison was an Azerbaijani. That lashed his legs so much that his meat smashed to pieces and his bones were seen. A leg of the other prisoner was shot. His leg rotted because of withholding first aid. They shot my three close friends. The regime didn’t feel sorry to anyone. There were pregnant women in the prison. They executed them. The officers were coming to the camera every evening and proposed that who would fire at the prisoners who will be killed this night? There was a Persian prisoner in our camera by name Huseyn Adam. He agreed and went. When he returned we saw that his armed are bloody till the elbow. He said that he fired at the brains and hearts of 4-5 persons. Then he helped to carry the bodies to the lorry. Nobody spoke to Adam after his this action”.
The bodies were buried secretly. A month later their things were handed over to their families. They took the money for each bullet from the family of the person they killed. Communists were buried in the place called “Lenetabad” near the Armenian cemetery.
Suleymani, a political refugee in the US, says his cousin Nasir Derazshemshir was arrested in Jafarabad city of Mughan four months ago.
“He is held in Ettelaat. He got master’s degree at Baku State University. He is interested in Azerbaijani culture, he used to buy books on this theme and take to Iran. He was allowed to meet with his mother once in four months. Mother could see his son for five minutes. Nasir’s face was injured. They said to his mother “Your son does not help us, Therefore, we do not hand him over to prison.” My cousin is not allowed to have a lawyer, either,” he said.
Shirvan-born Bahruz Alizadeh, 24, who has been living in Turkey as a political refugee since 2010, joined the national struggle when he was at school.
“Every month we printed 5000 leaflets about the aim of the South Azerbaijan National Movement, rights of the Azerbaijanis living in Iran, threw them in front of houses secretly and ran away. Then we saw that people are afraid to take and read these leaflets. We decided to disseminate the leaflets openly in order to tell people that it is natural for them to demand their rights. I used to go to the market and disseminate the leaflets there. I had several leaflets, when I was detained by Ettelaat officers. For the first time I was arrested at the age of 18 on March 15, 2005. I was taken to Ardabil branch of Ettelaat and they said to me: “You are still a child, they have deceived you. All this comes from North Azerbaijan. They are starving and want us to be separated from Iran and live like them.” I did not believe them, because our activists told us that they would say so, if we were arrested. After interrogation, threats I was released. They thought they had frightened me, but as soon as I was released I went to the market of national activist Abbas Lisani. Afterwards, I was arrested several times, I was held in Ardabil prison for 31 months. I was last arrested in 2008. I was going to sleep, when at 23.00 my friend phoned and offered me to meet near Hasanabad bridge. I had a presentiment. I told my mother to give my computer to my sister if I would not return in an hour. It contained information about my friends, I did not want it to be seized. When I reached the bridge, I saw my friend leaning on the bridge rail. When I approached, I saw him handcuffed to the rail of the bridge, his face was covered with blood, teeth were broken. When he saw me he said: “Bahruz, forgive me.” I kissed him and said: “Never mind, my brother, this is natural in the national struggle.” I was detained and again taken to Ardabil prison. I was handcuffed, two handcuffs were fastened to a third one, a heavyweight officer sat on my back. The court also sentenced me to 50 lashes. So, I served my punishment in Iran. But pursuits continued after I was released. Those who made friends with me were detained and interrogated. I saw that I could not struggle as I wanted, in November, 2010 I fled to continue my struggle abroad,” he said.
Ardabil-born political refugee in US T. Bayragci, 41, said he was imprisoned in Evin 3 years, 7 months, 19 days.
“I underwent torture. In 2006, the state-run “Iran” newspaper insulted Azerbaijanis saying they look like cockroaches. I also protested against this insult. Therefore, I was arrested and taken to Evin prison. During the interrogation they asked the names of the national activists, demanded from me to stop pro-Turkic activity. I rejected. I was burned, my four nails were pulled. My genitals were hurt, they pour oil into my ear. They removed my tongue, when they saw I did not speak. Now I can not speak, I express my views only by writing. I weighed 118 kg when I was arrested, I was 64 kg when I was released. But the worst is the moral torture. I bore the tortures, did not speak, nor wept. But when they insulted my honor, I could not bear and wept,” he said.
Source: APA
