Akbar Mohammadi

.Ideas and lashes :The prison diary of Akbar Mohammadi  Translated by Fariba Amini  The light of injustice will not burn forever If it burns one night, its fire shall be extinguished tomorrow   How long will sorrow be the joy of my existence?Much sin has been committed in your name, o FreedomOn the threshold of the execution gallows, torture rack and prisonThey drink wine and they raise their glasses in your name, o freedomThe dark nights are over my friend, we will see the dawnWhen the sun shall rise on the edge of freedom….       In the pitch of the night It is sometime now that in this solitude,silence is the color on the lips.A cry far away calls me but my feet are boundin the dark of the night.  There is no hope in the darkness.All doors and walls are closed in.If a shadow slithers on the groundIt is only an illusion in sight. People’s breathing is all depressed.It is sometime now that in this despairAll joy is gone. The spell of the nightcloses on me and my sorrow. I try hard But it laughs at me. Whatever effort I made in the daywent up the smoke when night came along.The drawings I made at night are nowhere to be found. It’s been a while now that I,like others see only silence on the lips.There is no movement in this darkness.  My Hands and feet are bound in the pitch of the night….                            Sohrab Sepehri                                                                        Translated by F. Amini    Introduction My name is Akbar Mohammadi.  I am sure you have heard of my name either on the radio or on television, and/or have read about me in newspapers, of my continuing struggle against the Islamic Republic; I am not sure, though, if you have any idea what happened to me in the prisons of the regime. For this very reason, I want to write my story and let all my compatriots know what took place. By writing this memoir, I intend to document everything in the archives of history which will one day expose the true nature of Iran’s present rulers.  I was born into a middle class family in Amol, in the luscious greenery of the beautiful province of Mazandaran, in the land of Maziar, adjacent to the land of Babak Khoramdin.  In 1994, after finishing high school, I came to Tehran.  After passing Entrance exam for the University, I was admitted to the school of Health and Human Resources at Tehran University, to study to become a social worker. As a freedom loving student, I saw the injustice and the lack of freedom prevailing in our society; thus I began my political activities. What changed me was the tragic death of the Forouhars in 1998, the exposure of these murders in the newspaper Salaam, and the paper’s subsequent closing. This tragic event had an enormous impact on many of us. My older brother Manouchehr Mohammadi and I were arrested during a peaceful student demonstration, which began in the universities on 18 Tir/8 July 1999, starting in Tehran and subsequently spreading to many other cities, and which was broken up by the regime’s security guards. It is ironic that I was kicked out of the University on the 27^th of Khordad 1382 (June 2003) because of my long absence (I was in prison!!). What you will read in the following pages are the events that led to my arrest (after 5 days) by the security forces and all that happened to me while in custody.  I must add that all the pain and suffering which I endured are not all spelled in this memoir as I have tried to forget most of it.In my original testimony and under interrogation I denied any membership in the Central Council of the Student Union as well as any participation in political activities as I found out that the process which the system was using to conduct my interrogation was both anti-democratic and tyrannical.  They were trying to get me to confess even though we had only engaged in democratic and non-violent activities; this was all done in order to take their revenge on other students, either condemn them to long sentences or send them to their execution. Knowing this tactic full well, and even though I had played a role in such activities alongside my brother, I knew that any kind of confession would give them grounds for making a case against me that would ultimately be my death sentence. I was unaware that they did not need sufficient evidence to condemn me, nor needed my confessions to sentence me to death for they had already done that; it was after 8 months that my original sentence was reduced to 15 years’ imprisonment.    Memoirs of Akbar Mohammadi On the 23rd of Tir 1378 (1999), my uncle Abdol-Reza Ashraf -Pour came to my dormitory. He was also a medical student in Hamedan.  That same evening, he and I went to Imam Hossein square to buy fruit. The next morning, on the 24^th of Tir, there was a state of siege all over Tehran.  The previous day we had had a similar situation but it was even worse on the 24^th. Every 500 meters, there were about 40-50 Basij militia at each street corner. They were armed with rifles, most were in their early twenties or even younger. Among them there were 2 to 4 revolutionary guards who acted as commanders. They would search everyone, ask for ID cards and when suspicious of any individuals, they would put them in paddy wagons. No one could utter a word. They were extremely rude and tough. The Bassij militia had come from other parts of Iran to Tehran to suppress the dissent. They were youngsters, who had become pawns. Their acted from pure conviction and most were from the rural areas and poor families. They had told them that the folks in Tehran and university students were anti-religious and anti-Islam. They were brainwashed thinking that we wanted to do away with Islam.  They were told that we wanted to spread prostitution and corruption throughout Iran. Since most of these young people loved guns and wanted to see the capital city, they had come to Tehran, where they were given guns to suppress the students, many of whom had also come from the same rural areas where the students were from. It was obvious that these bassijis had no notion of what freedom meant, had no idea how the religious rulers had deceived our nation, and how they themselves were being used. They did not know of the extent of corruption and injustice the regime was engaged in the name of religion. In fact the corrupt mullahs knew very well to use them for the suppression of the people.  When people would shout the slogan: Zendeh Bad Azadi, Long live freedom, they (bassij) would use their machine guns against the students. This was especially true after the 2^nd khordad when they added other deceptive measures  in an attempt to deflect public attention.  Mr. Khatami announced that no bassiji had in fact used a single bullet against the students. But the truth proved otherwise. In the afternoon of 18 Tir, I saw with my own eyes that a few students who had takenrefuge in the corner of an alley were confronted by the security guards and the bassijis.I witnessed a terrible tragedy in front of my eyes. We were standing at one side of the rails while they were on the other side. They were throwing stones at each other.  Suddenly, a student who was next to me ran to the other side, I shouted, don’t go; please don’t go, but unfortunately he ran to the other side of the street, when 4-5 of the Ansar Hezbollah arrested him and began beating him. One of them said, please don’t kill him. When I heard the sound of a bullet I ran, I saw the student’s half live corpse; I hoped that I might rescue him. But the bullet had gone through his heart and there was very little hope.  I carried him on my shoulders and went towards the crowd, when a few men stopped me and, despite my protest, took him, put him in their car, and took him to northern Amir Abad.  It was around 5 o’clock on the evening of the 24^th, when my brother Manouchehr and Reza (my uncle) came to my dorm. My dorm was located near the Ebne Sina circle in a building on the 5^th floor. It was different from other buildings, as ours was newly built. It was located between Gorgan and Mazandaran Streets. When they came to my dorm room, Reza went down to take a shower.  My roommate and I were sitting; our other roommates were not there. My friend (M) had been my guest for nearly a year and since I had a good rapport with the university administrators, they had allowed him to stay with me. Manouchehr told me that Reza and I were being sought after by the Ministry of Information (MI). He told us that, since we were in a house that they had searched, we had to run from roof to roof escaping from them; we ran over 70 houses and they shot at us; if they had found us they would have killed us instantly. Manouchehr continued:  when we reached our dormitory we saw a few guards who, I am sure, recognized us.We went down immediately and for the first time we saw new people (guards) we had never seen before.   We found out that they were from the Ministry of Information (MI). I told Manouchehr of the circumstances.  They left after saying their good byes. When leaving he said, Reza and I will be spending the night at our brother in law’s house.  I told them, why there? He said because Rahmatollah and my niece Shaghayegh are there and it’s a safe place, plus tomorrow we will find another place. They left and M and I put our clothes on and followed them within 50 meters. They took a cab from Ebneh Sina square.  As we walked down on Enghelab Avenue suddenly everything seemed dark in front of our eyes. Two people were standing over us.  They had Colt guns and nearby stood a Mercedes Benz, the door open. They ordered us to get into the car.We got in; they told us to lie low, which we did. One of them told me, so you are Manouchehr? I said no, he said you are lying. I said, “I am telling the truth, I am Akbar.”  He hit my head with the colt and blood started running down. I put my hands over my head to stop the bleeding; he shouted, you are not allowed to use your hands.   After a while, he asked, how do I know you are Akbar? I showed him my ID card.  He said where is Manouchehr?  I said, “I don’t know.”He then said, we know he came to your dorm so you must know where he is. I reiterated, I don’t know where he is.  He hit me with his fist and shouted, where is Manouchehr?Using his walky-talky, he then alerted the Ministry of Intelligence officials that Manouchehr had escaped, must be found and was to be arrested. Half an hour later, they took us to the notorious Towhid prison. When we got up to see where we were, they gave us a blindfold and told us to put it on. Then they told us to get out of the car. When we got out of the car, one of the guys who had a Mazandarani accent, said, “I promise you on this Koran and on everything that I believe in that if you tell us where Manouchehr is I will not keep you here for a second longer and will release you immediately.” I told him, I have no idea where he is. For an hour or so, the interrogation went on in the Mazandarani dialect, when a few guys asked me in Farsi where my brother was.  I told them again that I had no idea of his whereabouts. I asked them if they would let me go if they found him.  Then he said again, I promise you that I will release you if Manouchehr and Reza are found and arrested.  After an hour they did find and arrest them.  I have no idea how they found them. I only heard their screams at which point my heart almost stopped.  I was sure that Manouchehr would be executed on the spot as there was a lot of publicity surrounding him.  Then the interrogator told me again, you have got to tell me where they are. I said to him, but I can hear their cries; you are beating them so hard that I can hear them, at which point he said, you are wrong, those are not their voices. He said in reply, shut up, it’s none of your business. I said, but you told me and promised me that if they are arrested, you will release me.  What happened to your promise?He said angrily, I lied to you and you mistakenly believed me. I said, I didn’t really believe you but you promised on the Koran and all that you hold sacred. Don’t you believe in what you say?  He then replied, “Who cares about Koran and the rest, how much do you think they are worth?”  For three hours I was standing facing the wall blindfolded in the courtyard in Towhid. Then they took me to a room and told me to take off my blindfold, take off my regular clothes and put on prison clothing.  I then took my blindfold off, saw that the room was as small as 1and a half by 3 meters; it was full of prison clothes, blankets, some dishes. When I opened the door I saw that the courtyard was full of prisoners, among them Mahmoud Shoushtari; they had blindfolded him as well; he was in a sitting position facing the wall. My heart ached for him; he had written an article in the journal Hoviyat Kheesh titled “Who is the present Moavieh”?, in which he had compared the characteristics of the current leaders with those of Moavieh. I told myself that Mahmoud would be among the ones to be executed.A little later, the prison guard came and told me, did you put on prison clothes?I said yes, I did; he told me to go get a blanket, a glass, a dish and a spoon. I went back to that room and took what I needed and came out. He said, follow me. I told him I couldn’t see anything. He shouted, “Be quiet, just follow my footsteps.”We went to the third floor of the prison. They took me to cell number 623. Before he left   he said, the prison rules and regulations are hanging on the door; if you do anything differently we will punish you severely. He then left me in a small 1.5 by 3meter Cell. I saw the rules and regulations as it were posted on the door and it said,“Prison is like a university” -Imam Khomeini; I then read the rules:

1. Any protest will be severely punished.

2. If you  wish to talk to the interrogator you must present your ID

card.  If we see it fit we will allow you to see the responsible parties.

1. Food will be served three times a day– breakfast, lunch, and dinner, according to your needs.

2. The bathroom shall be used 4 times a day

3. You can take showers once a week.

4. Outdoor activities once a week

5. Change of clothes once a week.

6. Talking to other prisoners is not allowed. Any interaction or talk with

your next door prisoner will be subjected to severe punishment.

1. The use of books or newspapers is only allowed with the interrogator’s permission.

2. The use of telephone with family members is allowed with permission.

3. No writings on the wall are allowed.  If such activity is done it will be severely punished.

 

1. Towels, spoons, bowls, toothbrush, toothpaste are to be located outside the cell.

  Here, I must mention Farokh Shafii who was instrumental in the activities at Kouyeh Daneshgah (university dorms).  He was a graduate student at the University of Tehran; he was imprisoned for two years after the 1999 summer student uprising. He was a prisoner at Evin. A southerner, from Khuzistan province, he was patient, kind- hearted, courageous and full of life.   After a while, they opened our cell; we had a bowl of rice, some stew and a loaf of bread. They then closed the doors. I had no appetite and I was still heartbroken for Mohammad. I was under the impression that he would be executed soon.The guard opened the door and told me to put on my blindfold and follow him. I passed through a door and a 25-year old guy called upon me. “Akbar, follow me.”I followed him and went through the interrogation room. The grilling began.What was your role in the protests at the dorms? Who else were you with?What was Manouchehr’s role?  I replied:  I did nothing, I was amongst the students. Since I was in the social program at the University, I just tried to help the students getting water for them.  It was a hot day and they needed cold water; I even took water to the other side, to the enemy. What do you mean by the enemy?Well, the security guards who were there to crush the student movement; I considered them as our enemy and the enemy of our people.Then I talked about Manouchehr, that he had asked patience from the students. They repeated the same questions and I replied with the same answers. Then they told me to raise my hands and one foot. I stood there for two hours in the same position. Finally I got fed up and shouted, what have I done to deserve such torture? Then the interrogator told me to lower my hands and feet. If I did no listen to him,they would beat the hell out of me. After two hours they told me to sit at a table and write my confession.  Then they put the papers in front of me: Akbar, do you knowwhere you are and which apparatus is questioning you? I said, I am not sure which prison I am in but I know that the Ministry of Intelligence people are interrogating me. They are the ones who arrested me in the first place.He said, so you know which branch of government has arrested you and that this is no joke.If you don’t cooperate with us life will be hellish for you.I wrote the same answers as before.Then I gave them to my interrogator. He became quite furious and said, I want the truth from you. Why are you lying to me? He became even angrier and asked others to join in. they beat me and used ferocious means to confront me. They used foul language, insult after insult.More of the same questions followed but my answers remained the same.They beat me again and again but my response was the same until early dawn when they finally took me to solitary confinement.  At eight in the morning, they opened the cell and told me to come out. When I came out I saw the same interrogator. While coming down from the third floor, he began to curse me, using the same language as before. Today I will make life miserable for you, he said.We entered a room where there were five or more people; “Akbar if you don’t confess today I will have you beat with electric cables.” I have nothing new to say, I replied; everything I say is a repeat of yesterday. He was taken aback and told another man in the room, this guy is anti-revolutionary, take him and teach him a good lesson.They took me to a room where torture was about to take place.This room was in between cells number 100 to 200. In between the rooms there was a huge air conditioning unit and a set of beds.  They told me to sleep on my stomach.They chained me to the bed while my feet were tied 10 centimeters beyond the bed. I could not move as my hands were also chained. I could not move any part of my body. They started to flog me, up and down. Then one of the torturers said, why are you flogging him on the upper body?  Do it on hisfeet where no trace will be left. I just shouted, “I have done nothing wrong. I am innocent.”  After a while one of the interrogators said, “Akbar if you confess, we will do nothing to you and we will release you.” I told him, my answers remain the same. The flogging with the cable continued; 30 lashes or so. One would rather get a hundred lashes on the body than on the feet since the nerve system is on the feet is particularly sensitive. When one is lashed on the feet, one feels an excruciating pain all over, in the flesh and bones.  Lashes on the feet also don’t produce numbness, unlike flogging on the body, which causes less pain. At the same time, one can endure pain from a thousand lashes to the other parts of the body rather than a lash with electric wire on the soles of the feet. It is so painful. After I endured these lashes, they finally unchained me. At all times, we had to keep our blindfold on. They told me to get up but I could hardly get up. They took me by my two hands and brought me to the prison court yard. Then they told me, you must jump for 20 minutes so that the soles of your feet do not get infected.  I had no energy to do it. Whenever I would stand still, they would beat me harder, and kept telling me that I must jump up and down or else….I finally did as they told me and I was taken back to the interrogation room. They repeated the same questions. And I in turn gave them the same answers.Then the questions changed. When did you go to the university dorms? When you went in there; the dorms were being guarded by security forces. How were you able to get in and speak to other students? With which students did you organize and how were you able to confront the many security people?  Where you did get the gasoline bucket which you were holding in your hands? What were Manouchehr and his friends’ goals? What was Reza up to?  What was your goal in organizing the students? In reply I said: I went there at around 11 in the morning and I had no role whatsoever.I didn’t know anybody. The bucket I had in my hands was water not gasoline. Since it was really hot, I was taking water for the students.The interrogator said:  you are lying. We know that was a gasoline bucket. It was to be used for making Molotov Cocktails. You and your friends were able to create a riot with it. These weapons prevented the security guards and the military from backing down from the dormitories and going all the way to the intersection of the Unknown Martyr.What did you do to get the people of Amir Abad to join you, and the girl students to join the strike? All of these actions caused a huge demonstration which in turn became violent and slogans were chanted against the authorities.  You guys were the culprits.  Again, I denied everything and said that I had only been helping the students by providing water. Thereupon the interrogators became furious and started to beat me harder, for a whole hour.  I had pain all over my body and could not walk anymore. They asked about Manouchehr’s role in this affair. I said I never saw him at the university dorms and I didn’t know any of his friends.  They became more furious, shouting: you, your brother and Reza are the cause of all the unrest at the university.   I explained to them again that Manouchehr had only tried to calm the students. They didn’t believe me and the beating resumed.  It was then that I heard Manouchehr’s screams and then I heard Reza’s. They had hung them from the ceiling and were using cables to torture them. I heard their cries and my heart stopped. I could not sit or write anymore. The interrogator said sarcastically, you mama’s boy, are you really upset or are you trying to make fun of us?No need for any of this mumbo jumbo. Don’t worry; soon we will execute you, your brother and Reza.  No one will be able to save you guys, not your bosses-the Americans and the Israelis.  And even those inside cannot save you, you are traitors to the revolution, to the clergy, to the system.  Soon we will execute a whole bunch of you to give others a good lesson.  No one will be able to utter a word against the Islamic Regime and our beloved leaders or protest against our clergy. He then added: do   you honestly think a few thousand of you students can overthrow this regime? You are so out of line. We will put you and all the other students in your place. The Mojahedin (MIK) in the year 1981 had a million people marching with guns. They marched from Imam Hossein square to Azadi Square and we ran them like dogs. We attacked them from the sky and on the ground. We killed so many of them, they ran like rats and we were able to find them and destroy their organization so that they would not be a threat to our existence and now a few of you students think that you can destroy our sacred system?  I told him in response:  no one is ordering us; we have no bosses as you claim.  If we say that America is a good country it is because there is democracy there. There is freedom. The people in these countries benefit from security, prosperity, and stability. There is freedom of speech.  If we talk about the realities in the US, does that make them our bosses? I then told him, you think we are traitors; but my brother, the rest of our friends the students and I are only “critics of the system” and any criticism or protest against the regime is our natural and inherent right, even under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. If we students do not speak today of the corruption and injustice in the ruling elite, if we are only witnesses to this terrible condition, who is going to defend the people? A traitor is one who is indifferent to such injustice. The real conspirators are those who are taking the people’s riches and who, like thieves in an alley, are plundering our nation and suppressing the voices of freedom. As for your other questions, I am not afraid of death. It is quite true that life is precious, life is sweet but for freedom and in defense of the people, death is even sweeter.  You may think that by executing some students or by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the society you could continue your rule but you must know that one day the people will take their revenge and will overturn things.   You have paved the way for your own destruction. Not only the Iranian people will not tolerate this situation, but you will encounter international pressure. The interrogator said:  we will get rid of every voice of dissent. People inside will not be able to do a damn thing nor can the rest of the world. I said, unfortunately, the Iranian people were silent when in the years 1981- 1988 you killed so many people, because they thought the clergy was on their side; but you had brainwashed everyone with your religious propaganda, claming that we were the ones who were against our religion and our ways. If you had destroyed a million lives you could claim that they were all against the Islamic regime and people at the time would have accepted your argument for they really believed in this system; they thought it belonged to them. So no one spoke out.  Now our nation has awakened. The people don’t buy these arguments anymore. And they will not allow you to do the same. They now are fully aware of the deceitful ways of the clergy in abusing religion.                                                               *** In the following pages, I would like to describe the extent of physical and mental torture that I endured for nearly three and a half months. In the first twenty seven days I was flogged with a cable every other day. And during the same period, everyday I was allowed to sleep only one hour a day; for anyone, lack of sleep is as much a physical and mental torture.The rest of the 23 hours either I would be interrogated or beaten with extreme viciousness.  On the 27th day, after returning from my first trial, the torture became less and less but the interrogation continued.  The flogging continued for five or six more days. The mental and physical torture and the insults decreased until after 3 months and a half all torture and interrogation stopped. One of the forms of mental torture used frequently was the use of high powered air filters which made a horrible sound and were on 24 hours a day. Another one was the usage of loud speakers emitting very solemn sounds or funeral music, which was on from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., their high volume excruciating to the ear. One of the methods of physical torture was being hung upside down. They would put our hands in the back and handcuff them. They would put a rope in the middle of the handcuff and hang us from the ceiling. This was worse than flogging with a cable.This torture method was used many times during my imprisonment. While during the interrogation they couldn’t get a new word out of me, they would become extremely furious and would then go on attack; they would then flog me so that maybe I would open my mouth.  The first time they did that, I shouted, why do you do this?I am innocent, I haven’t done anything. But my words were meaningless to their ears. In fact they loved to see me in this state.  I remember the very first time they flogged me, my father’s words came to mind when I was still in High School.  “Don’t open up to anybody and don’t say things to just anybody. Tell only those who really care for you.” My father told me a story of a man whose hand was cut off for a crime that he supposedly committed. He did not moan in front of anyone. Everyone was astonished. Then with that hand cut off, he went home and on his way home he saw another man in the same state.The two hugged each other. The guy whose hand had been cut off recently started moaning and screaming; the other one asked him to calm down. He said to him, why didn’t you say anything while they were cutting your hand? The man said, well, if I had done so, the people watching me would have been happy at the prospect of my hand being cut off but now that I am with you whose hand is also cut, I can moan and cry all I want because I know that you know how I feel! And how much pain I am enduring.People around them showed their utter admiration and respect for him. The moral of the story was that the one who feels the other’s pain also feels the other’s suffering.   When at other times, they used a cable to flog me with I did not say a word. The wolves were quite impressed and taken aback. I would not move an inch for a moment and they thought that I had actually passed out. Even though the cables to my foot were horribly painful, I tolerated the pain, I would not breathe.  You could only believe this one day when history takes a different turn and you could hear the stories of my torture from the mouth of the torturers and interrogators; then you might actually believe of my resistance under torture in the Islamic regime’s prisons. Usually after the flogging, the interrogation would begin with the same old questions. I would say the same thing I had said the previous days so that they would make the same conclusions.  One day they took me to another room blindfolded. Then one of them said,Akbar, if you don’t confess I swear to God that I will torture you to death. Then in astonishment they told Manouchehr to tell me to cooperate. I realized then that my brother was in the next room. I said happily: Hi Manouchehr. How are you?  The manShouted: shut up you, you have no right to talk to Manouchehr.  Then he turned to my brother again and said, tell Akbar to confess everything, maybe he will listen to you.My brother said in a calm voice, but he hasn’t done anything to confess to the things he has not done! Manouchehr’s words caused him trouble as they got angry and started beating him more ferociously. The interrogator repeated:  Tell Akbar to speak up. Manouchehr told me, say whatever you think is right so that they wouldn’t torture you so much. After that, they took me to another room and told me to sit and write. But I said the same old things again.  They got really angry and began to beat me harder. It was such a harsh beating that I thought all my bones had been broken. Even to this day, my back hurts from those severe beatings. It becomes worse; I am not able to sit for a long time or walk for a distance, or even sleep. On the fourth day, the questions were changed. Tell us the name of your friends who were involved in the student uprising. What was their role? What was Kourosh Sehatti’s role? How many Molotov Cocktails did you and your friends make? What were their names? What did you want to do with the Molotov cocktails?  How decisive was your role in the events?  How were they following your orders in organizing so quickly and making the Molotov cocktails? How and in what way did you give orders to them?When Manouchehr went to Europe and the US, how much money did he get from the CIA and Mossad to instigate the uprising at the University in order to overthrow the regime?Did he meet Reza Pahlavi?  I said in response: “None of my friends had anything to do with the events that led do the uprising at Kouyeh daneshgah (university dorms). I have never seen Kourosh Sehatti at the university. I have no idea how to make Molotov coctails. I never ordered any of the students to make them. When I was there, I could not see a single one in or around the street. I had no role in the uprising let alone a decisive role!”No student took orders from me. Maybe some of the students knew me (only because my brother M. was in the same dorm) and there was a lot of traffic and I knew many of them but that doesn’t mean that they were under my umbrella or that they got directives from me.  Additionally I had no idea about Manouchehr’s trip overseas and whom he met or whether he had a meeting with Reza Pahlavi. He has never received money from the CIA or Mossad. He was invited by Iranian cultural and university organizations and wherever he gave a speech, they would pay him.  That money was nothing substantial. It was only for his daily expenses.They never spent more money. This amount was close to $7500.00 which is equivalent to 6 million toumans which only enabled them to open their office in Meydan Enghelab (Revolution Square).They asked me the same questions over and over again, and my reply was always the same. They then would become angry and beat me. I was worried about Manouchehr that maybe they might execute him. This had such a nerve-wracking effect on me that I developed heart palpitations.  On the one hand, the pressure from lack of sleep was killing me and I wished for onewhole day of a good rest. During the initial 27 days I had only one hour of sleep in the early morning hours. When they took me to my cell, I would be like a dead corpse. When they wanted to wake me up they would first beat hard on the door and then would shout loudly. But I was unable to wake up. Then they would pour cold water on me which itself was so intolerable. Nevertheless, I would open my eyes and sit. Then they would blindfold me; I could not get up or walk in that state. But the interrogator would take my hand,  make me get up and take me to the room where I would encounter more beatings; They would slap me on the face, a cruel  way to wake me up. For a few minutes I was able to answer their questions or fill the forms they had put in front of me, until I would realize that no one was around so I would doze off. Then when they were back the same old stuff would start, more beatings. I had so much lack of sleep that I preferred to get a few beatings for a few minutes of sleep.  On the 5^th day the questions were as follows: -where did you get the petroleum in that bucket you held in your hands?-how many people made Molotov cocktails on your orders? How much?  What were their names?-how much money had Manouchehr received from the CIA and Mossad and the monarchists for the overthrow of the regime?-what was Kourosh Sehatti’s role in the uprising?-give us the list of your friends who were in the dormitory and at the university and those who were involved in the events? In response I wrote again that I had not held a bucket of gasoline. It was a bucket of water. I never told anyone to make Molotov cocktails.M. never received any money from any foreign groups or from those opposed to the Islamic regime. What he received was a total of 7500 K which he got after making speeches.I have never seen Kourosh Sehatti at the University. I have not seen any of my own friends involved in the events that led to the uprising.  And even if any of my friends participated, I do not know their names. I never saw anyone from my own dormpresent at the events. They repeated these same questions over and over again.And every time that I replied with the same answers, they would punch me even harder. Then they decided to take me to the flogging room. They flogged me 80 times and then hung me from the ceiling. They didn’t really know what to do with me after all the torture they inflicted, since every time my answer was the same. On the 8^th day, they became even more angry and told me that I had either lied abouteverything or that I had not written a word of truth.   The next day the questions were the following: -what were the slogans chanted against the Islamic Republic? Or which ones did you hear?-what was the content of the slogan “Molla Omar” and what did they really mean by that?-In how many trucks did you guys make Molotov cocktails?-How many million of dollars has Manouchehr received for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic?-what was your objective in instigating this uprising?  In response I said, I never chanted any slogans and never ordered anybody to do so.But these are the ones I heard:-Students are aware; they despise tyranny-tell my mother that she no longer has a son-security guards, have some shame, leave the university grounds-death to tyranny, long live freedom  Again I emphasized that I had no idea about the use of Molotov cocktails and that Manouchehr had never received any financial help. My dorm room is my refuge and no One is allowed to enter my home or attack it. But unfortunately I saw that the security guards in civilian clothing came to our dorms and attacked us viciously. They burned down our dorms and even if we were equipped with guns, which we were not, it was only right to defend our homes.  This was our basic right. Nevertheless, we did not use violence to defend ourselves, it was the hezbollahi, the security guards, and those in civilian clothing who used violence, tried to suppress the students.  They stopped at   nothing and used every vicious act possible. After a while, the questions changed.The following was asked: -what is your opinion about the traitor monarchists, Reza Pahlavi, Mojahedin (they used the term Monafeghin) in the written questions. I said I had no opinion about them.He became angry at which point he took the sheet from me and said, why don’t you want to write about these traitors? I answered, they are not traitors. They are struggling for the freedom of our people and of Iran. Traitors are those who torture the students for merely speaking out, traitors are those who force confessions which are not true. Traitors are those who suppress the people and intellectuals.  Traitors are those who are depriving Iranians of freedom which is the right of every individual. He shouted back to me, do you know that all our misery is caused by those Monafegh and the monarchists? Don’t you know that the monafeghin fought side by side Saddam against our people?I told him in turn:  for twenty years you have ruled this country and you have not done such a good job.  If they struggle against you it is because it is their right and it is the right of the people to oppose a few incompetent people who have no notion about running the state. Now, I must say about the Mojahedin, that if they went to Iraq we should ask their motive?  In a near future,   they must answer to the Iranian people whether what they did was right or wrong? These words made the interrogators even more furious. For two hours they punched me and beat me, then took me to the flogging room and they hung me again. These torture methods lasted for nearly 3 hours. And I passed out. Even now after 5 years, my left shoulder is in constant pain; but their viciousness and cruelty did not stop there. Before they took me to the flogging room, one of them said to me just wait right here, the interrogation room was on the 3^rd floor. I felt like I was falling down, and I was about to fall with my head. I tried to hold on to the stairs but I could not hold myself so I hit my hands and my feet and then my back hit the edge of the stairs which caused immense pain. For 27 days I could feel the pain every time I was in my cell lying on my back. It was so bad that my cell mates would be bothered by my cries of anguish.  Sometimes the prison doctor would prescribe pain killers but it did not help much.  The guards would shout: Shut up!They would threaten me with the cable. But I was not afraid of anything. Pain had become part of my body.  I would also try to tell prison guards that I was Ok so that they would in fact not be jubilant. Nevertheless, they would still continue to torture me. My body was always warm from the continuous torture, but I did not feel the pain anymore.When after those 27 days, the torture subsided, my body started to ache more.  On the 8^th day they brought some papers from my friends in the Student Union who had written against me. It said that I, Akbar was responsible for organization and rebellion against the government; that I had also ordered the making of two truckloads of molotov cocktails. The demonstration had continued upon Manouchehr and my orders.The interrogators told me that since they have made these written confessions, I should write something against them.  I told them that they were lying, that they would never write such things about me. After a few minutes they brought those individuals in the room and unfortunately they repeated what it had been written.  Their names were:  H_,Y_, I_, M_,M_Sh_. These three individuals blamed everything on Manouchehr and me.  They claimed that we were the main instigators of the incidents at the university. There were others who had made similar statements against me but not as harsh as those three.I was really disappointed by some of my friends; I had not expected it from them.I believed that by their action, they were sending me to my execution.  When they left the room, the interrogators said, now that you see with your own eyes what your friends have said about you, your death sentence is inevitable. So write what you can, maybe then your sentence will be reduced. They had questions about their participation which I refused to admit that they were in fact involved.  They (my friends) had been beaten and tortured and consequently had made statements against me, but I did not do the same. I could not state things against my friends even if they had done injustice to me by accusing me.  The ninth day the questions were as followed: -How many million of dollars has Manouchehr received from the Mossad and the CIA? How much money did he get from the monarchists to create havoc and to overthrow the government?-What was Manouchehr’s role in the unrest?-What was the role of Reza and M. Sehatti?-How many of your classmates and the ones in your dorm were involved? And what did they do?-Name those who were involved? Explain what exactly they did?-Which organizations did Manouchehr meet overseas? Why did he meet with Reza Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi? I then wrote the same things I had said a dozen times before.I wrote that it was possible that I saw some of my friends at the university dorms but that they had no role whatsoever in any of the events. Manouchehr was invited to go abroad by Iranian cultural organizations. The German Green party had invited him to speak; he never met with Farah Pahlavi or Reza Pahlavi; this was an utter lie.They repeated the same questions; I repeated the same answers. Then the beating started once again. Then the interrogators brought a few albums of pictures; they stood behind me and told me to raise my blindfold and look at the photos. I said to them in an indifferent way; I no one in these album nor recognize any of them.They became furious and this time gave me another round of flogging with the cable. The tenth day: The questions this time were about the photos. They put a few more albums in front of me.  Which one of these photos do you recognize? I told them again, I don’t know any of the people in the photos. Then the interrogators showed some of my political friends (who had been previously active in the Student Union) do you know them, which one of was at the dorm?I said, I know them but they were not present there nor did I see any of themDo anything.  Then they changed the format of the questions: 1-     What was your role in the Student Union?2-     What was your role in the Defense Committee?3-     What was your role in distributing leaflets at the University?4-     Where were the leaflets printed and who printed them?5-      Who wrote these leaflets?6-      Who paid for all the expenses?7-     What was the role of your friends and that of your roommates in the dorm in The protests?8-     Tell us each and every name of the participants?9-     When Manouchehr and Reza returned from their overseas trip who replaced themin your group? What was your role and who wrote these leaflets?     I said the following in response.  I had no specific role in the Union;I never distributed any leaflets at the University nor at any other place;I have no knowledge of where the leaflets were printed and who printed them;I have no idea who wrote these leaflets; I believe the national and democratic minded individuals supported and paid for the cost of printing the leaflets; I have never seen any of my classmates or my dorm room friends participate in any of the demonstrations; I have no idea who wrote the declarations while Reza and Manouchehr were abroad, who took over the group while they were gone. I had no role in the organization of the intellectual groups. After answering these questions they again took me to the flogging room, where they asked me the same questions and my replies remained the same. The eleventh day: They brought more albums and put them on a chair; they said, look at the photos.You must know some of them? I looked and said, I don’t know any of these people.They got angry, saying:  you are lying. We know you are lying and you know these individuals. Why don’t you stop lying and all your problems will be solved. If you don’t say anything, others will so tell us who was involved in the dorm. If you tell us, we will release you. As usual, I said no.  I don’t know any of these people and have never seen them. I will not write about them.  Then they brought other photo albums, ok, so you are saying you don’t know any of these individuals in the photos.  Then we will tell you to writewhatever we say. Write a statement against them and we will free you immediately.  Again my reply was negative; once again the beating started. Twelfth day: They asked me questions about the photos and told me to write. My answer remained   the same. Hearing my negative answer, they would begin beating me, with the cable, then insult me and then hang me in the same way as before.On the 12^th day I looked in the bathroom mirror while the interrogator was out of the room and noticed how terrible I looked.  I had grown a beard; my hair was all messy,I had no comb to straighten it. I said to myself, “Akbar, you have never looked this badly all your life.  Now in captivity by the wolves, you don’t even take care of yourself! I assured myself that even under worse conditions I would not utter a word against others or talk to them about myself. Thirteenth day Once more the same old questions, the same photos, and repetitions.  They said, at least give us the surname and family names of those in the pictures.  Why don’t you write about them; it will help you in your trial! Again, when I would say no, I would get a good beating.  Fourteenth day The questions this time were about my own involvement in the Student Union Movement, Organization of Intellectual and Student Groups, the Student Committee in Defense of Political Prisoners, and those who were members of these three groups. They wanted to know about the sympathizers, and when I would give them no clue, they became angry and tore the sheets of questionnaire.  “Don’t give us these mumbo jumbo replies, we know you are lying.” Whenever they would give me the questionnaires to write on, and I would not write what they wanted to read, they would tear them up in anger. However, as a rule, they needed to keep at least one for themselves.  Dozens of similar papers would be torn a day by the interrogators. When I would still remain silent,  they would flog me harder especially with the cable which was terribly painful. Many times, the pain was so excruciating (especially the first 27 days)That I would go to my cell to rest a bit; I would moan and groan; my body felt like exploding. The pain would slowly dissipate after taking painkillers. Fifteenth day: The questions were as follows: -when did you begin your political activities?-in your Department at the university, when Mr. Deh- Namaki spoke, you asked himsome questions and made some harsh comments about the Islamic Republic and the clergy. What were those comments?-you were involved in the demonstrations at the dorms before 1999. What was your role?-You would ask the students at the dorms to participate in the demonstration? How and with whom did you do that?  -how many times did you and your friends distribute leaflets in the dormitories and other universities?-What was your goal in making so many Molotov cocktails? Who were the individuals  involved in making them?- What was that bucket you were carrying, the one with gasoline in it?- When the students attacked the Interior Minister, what was your role?- What was your intention in chanting the slogans against the Islamic regime leadership and against Velayat Faghigh? Were you in fact undermining them?- was it your intention in this uprising to overthrow the regime?- what we heard is that you, Manouchehr and Reza and others in your organization were planning for this uprising sometime before and you wanted to spread the revolt all over the country.    What is your answer?- How many millions of dollars has Manouchehr received to instigate this rebellion?- What was your role in the Student Union and in the Committee for Defense of Political  prisoners ? I said in reply:I began my political activities while I was a student.I spoke about the harsh realities in the society and the injustice againstmy people.I had no role in the demonstrations and I was not even present.I never invited anyone to participateI never distribute any leaflets.I never had a role in making Molotov cocktails and don’t know anyone who did.I did not have in my possession a bucket of gasoline. Instead, I did carry a bucket of water. I gave the students some water as it was very hot. Since I am a student in socialWork, I saw my duty to help those in need.I have not idea how the Minister of Interior was attacked or for what reason.I did not chant any slogans.I have never been a member of any organization.The student uprising was non-violent and peaceful and the students, as the intellectual echelon of society, are obliged to speak out in order to defend the rights of the people. If the students were involved in demonstrations, it was because they saw corruption and poverty in Iran. But the students remained calm and peaceful during the entire time.It is utterly false to say that we in fact planned a revolt before 18 Tir (July 8, 1999).M. never received any money. He was invited to speak at the invitation of Iranian organizations; he received an amount of $ 7500.00 equivalent to 6 million toumans, for his speaking engagements.I had no responsibility in any of the activities but since my brother was there I would show up. Sixteenth day: All questions were the same as the previous days and my replies were the same.When they were angry at me, they would torture me the same way and I would be treated with cables. The routine was the same: They would tear the questionnaires, I would say the same things; would make them  furious and like angry wolves they would attack me, kick me and beat me with alltheir might. I must say they were worse than any savage animal.  The seventeenth day Their questions were the following: -Where were you the first night of the uprising?-When we asked around the dormitory, your friends E_ and M_ told us, you were not in your dorm room. Where were you that night?-What was the reason behind this revolt?-How many days in advance did you prepare for the uprising?-How much money (millions of dollars) did M. receive from Mossad, the CIA and the monarchists?- What was your role in the anti-revolutionary Student Union of Graduates?  What did you do in the committee in the defense of Political Prisoners?  On Friday, according to the confirmed reports, military and security units arrived at the dormitories and were able to provide security but you and your friends started the revolt. What is your explanation? -According to eye witnesses and those arrested, you were the main organizer of these protests; how do you explain this?  I wrote:In the first night of the uprising I was in my dorm room which is near Ebneh SinaSquare. Whoever said I was not in my room is lying. I slept in my room.I had no role in any of the demonstrations. Neither I nor my brother had any previous role in these demonstrations. I had no specific role in these events. I was never a member of any political organization. It’s true that I was present on Friday at the dorm but I was only helping the students as I am a social worker. I was providing water for them. Secondly, my dorm room was like my home. No one had the right to enter it without my consent.But I saw with my own eyes how they set fire in the dormitory and how they attacked the students.  As a dutiful student I had to protect my home and to deal with the unfair and ruthless ways of the security guards.I had no role in organizing the events. The questions were repeated. My answers remained the same. Furious as a result,they would rip up the papers and once again the torture would begin. Eighteenth day The same practices and the same measures would repeat themselves. They took me to the torture chamber, flogged me with cables and hung me upside down.  When all the attempts had failed, they didn’t know what else to do. One of the forms of mental torture was to tell me that, they would soon execute me or Manouchehr would surely be shot to death. When they would say that, my nerves would be shattered.My heart was in pain at the thought of Manouchehr being possibly executed. If you had a brother and someone would tell you they were going to kill him, how would you react? Nineteenth day Today the interrogators asked me two questions.  -         Tell us about the conference where you talked about AIDS?-         Why did you speak so harshly in the religion class against the Islamic Republic? What did you say?     I asked them what the use was of telling them about my talk on AIDS. He said, I asked you a question and you must reply accordingly. I said, the subject of the conference was AIDS; when I begun the conference, I said AIDS is worse than the plague. And it is true that today this is a terrible disease for all humanity; I also emphasized that the disease is somewhat under control in European countries since the authorities in those countries control the traffic across borders and use cautionary measures to stop its spread; in most European nations and the US, AIDS is under control, whereas in the Third World countries and even our own, they do not want to let the public know of the dangers of this disease. Television does not say anything and even other media outlets do not make the effort. That is why the spread of AIDS in Iran has risen to a dangerous level and why it threatens many of our citizens. When I finished with my explanation, he said to me:  Akbar, you and your brother Manouchehr and people like you are as dangerous for our society as AIDS. And if we don’t eradicate you, you will embark on your campaign to get rid of the Islamic Republic and our religious beliefs; like Aids, you are destructive. So we must get rid of you as we do with AIDS.  We will not let anyone undermine our sacred beliefs; we will execute you so that it will be a good lesson for others. In his reply to the question about what I said in the religion class, I told him we were about 100 in this class, with one Akhund (clergyman) as our teacher. Our teacher talked about the corruption and pressures in the old regime. He told us a story about a satirical journal which published a caricature of a man who had an orange tree and a poor peasant who wanted to take one of the oranges but the thorns of the tree prevented him from doing so.  The peasant, hopelessly, said, God, am I denied an orange in this vast country of mine, Iran. The teacher/clergyman said to us, the thorns of the tree are like the corrupt rulers of the old regime and that is the reason why they closed down that journal.  He continued that in the past, our people were living under poverty and destitution and that the former rulers did nothing, but now our people are living in prosperity and we owe that to the sacred rule of the Islamic Republic and our dear clerics! I got up at this moment and in protest shouted, was it before or now that 90% of our people live underneath the poverty line?  In the past, there was only 5% poverty but what about now?  Our daughters are being sold in Arab countries and our students and others are addicted to drugs.  Who is responsible for all this misery? Iran is lying on a bed of wealth but our people are destitute and live miserable lives.I also emphasized how so many of our educated young people and literary men and women have been incarcerated or executed only and only because they believe in democracy or freedom for every Iranian. Because they believe that all parties, groups and the press should express their opinions freely.  Today, these thoughts are not pleasant to those who rule us and they will commit any crime.  I will only mention one of the many elements of this corruption. When two trucks full of gold were being taken out across the border, we saw on Television, how the gendarmerie and the guards in Bandar Abbas found out and the goldsmith in the same city acknowledged how valuable it was and of what quality this gold was; immediately after 24 hours, the gold was turned to copper, the officers who exposed this act and a few goldsmith were arrested and no one knows what happened to them.These same officers wanted to stop the corruption but God knows what became of them.This is only one example of the many shady actions of those who are ruling this country.At this time, the teacher got really angry and he said you have no right to utter lies in the classroom. The other students told me, Mohammadi, please keep quiet; we are also aware of the existing corruption and injustice but we don’t have the courage to say anything.  But I continued as if I were not scared anymore:   “You as our teacher see all this corruption and yet you speak nothing of it in your classroom and in fact are a good propaganda machine for the IR. If the students do not speak freely it is   because we live in a dictatorship and by saying what’s on their mind, they will have to pay a high price.   Believe me that 99% of the students here are against the regime.  At this time, our teacher said, I promise not to discuss politics in class if you promise to do  the same.  I told him, there is nothing wrong with discussing politics but it’s not alright to tell a bunch of lies to the students and to impose one’s wrong ideas on the students.  Try to tell the truth and I for my part will do the same, as an Iranian and as a student who considers its duty to raise political questions.   At this point, the interrogator got angry with me and said, who told you to speak on these subjects?  I told him, I said the truth and I did the right thing. Today, Poverty, corruption, prostitution, and addiction are widespread in Iran. When you became the employees of the state, you swore as agents of the Ministry of Information and security to serve the people, not just those who rule this country, but you have forgotten your oath. I am truly sorry for you.   The twentieth day Their questions began, and I wrote in reply. One of the questions was about a personI honestly did not know at that time, but then I realized I knew who he was.  They told me, Akbar, some time ago, you and your friends distributed leaflets at the university. When doing so, there was a guy there who said, are you going to make trouble here? And what did you say to him in response? I said, I may have been present there but only went  to see my friends or to see Manouchehr.That person who you are referring to must have been Mr. Ali Tavakkoli ; he is a member of the central committee of Tahkim Vahdat and a reformist. They have been supporting the regime. Tahkim is part of the left wing of the IR while the Islamic Union is to the right.  They are concerned about the formation and influence of any group which is not aligned with the government. They don’t want to see any other groups become influential in the university. Mr. Tavakkoli said what he said, because my brother had formed an independent organization with significant influence and support among the students.  I accompany my brother most of the time and think very much like him.   After a month when I had been asked about Mr. Tavakkoli, I saw him in the courtyard of the revolutionary court.  I was blindfolded as usual when the interrogator told me to wait near the car.  I heard the voices of some officials who would say, Haj Agha, please come in the car.  It was a patrol car. I realized they were not around me so I took off my blindfold and saw Ali Tavakkoli who was getting into the car. Immediately I put the blindfold back on; I saw Tavakkoli get into the car. He said nothing to me, thinking that I had not seen him. When he was getting into the car, I said, hello Mr. Tavakkoli. He asked me who I was. I said, I am Akbar Mohammadi,  Manouchehr Mohammadi’s brother. When he asked me how I was, the interrogators who saw this exchange, slapped me a few times on the face, and told me how do you know Tavakkoli? Why did you talk to him? You know you are not allowed to talk to anyone. Where did you know him from? “I recognized his voice,” I said. “He was my brother’s classmate.” I did not reply to the third question.  At this time, their tone of voice changed. Up to the present they were referring to him as Haj Agha with a special Ta’rof (Iranian politeness).And now all of a sudden they were acting as if he was their prisoner. It was all fake, their way of deceiving me to let me think that they were at odds with each other. A man who had civilian clothes told Tavakkoli quite rudely: you SOB, why did you talk to the prisoner? They put him in the back seat and put me in the front of the patrol car; while on the road, they would tell him to put his head down, all along making me believe that in fact he was not one of their own (an agent of the Ministry) so that after I was released I would not say anything about his role in the office of consolidation. To all of you who read these memoirs, the number-one man of the Tahkim Vahdat (Office of Student Consolidation) was an agent of the ministry of Information and security of the Islamic Regime.   We have to ask, were all the members agents?  At this moment I remember the interrogator’s question when someone had asked me in the dorms if I were behind the uprising. Then and at that moment I realized who that man was. It was this same Tavakkoli who was the head of Tahkim Vahdat office but in reality he was an agent of the Revolutionary court or the Ministry of Information. I said to myself, God have mercy how the organization had recruited many honest students, deceived them and how many had been detained for that reason, and their lives shattered as a result. I answered some questions orally; the same repetitions as on the 17^th day. On the 21^st day The questions were being repeated and nauseating. -         What was your goal in instigating the uprising at the dormitories?-         How many millions of dollars did M. receive from the CIA and Mossad in the attempt to overthrow the Islamic Republic?-         why did you (Akbar) start the protest and wanted to spread  it to other parts of the country? You wanted to see a few students die so that you could play with people’s emotions.-         What is your relationship with Jebheh Melli, Nehzat Azadi, Tabarzadi’s group and the Forouhars?-         What was the role of National Union organization in the University uprising?  All the news indicates that you had a crucial role, what do say about all of this?-         When Manouchehr traveled overseas, did he meet with the monarchists? Which other groups did he meet with? And did he meet with Reza Pahlavi, what did they discuss?-         When he was in the US, did Manouchehr meet with agents of the Central intelligence Agency?-         What was the role of Mossad and the CIA in support of Manouchehr in his attempt at overthrowing the Islamic Republic?-         Most of the student members of National Union who are under arrest have Pointed you and your brother as the main culprits in the uprising, and we have their confessions in writing.  They are willing to be eyewitnesses if necessary at your trial. What is your opinion in this regard? I said to them: ·        I had nothing to do with the incidents at the dorms.·        Manouchehr has never received any funds from the CIA, the Mossad or any other organization. He returned to Iran 8 months prior to 18 Tir.·        I am telling you for the hundredth times that I had no role in the student demonstrations.·        I met a few times with members of the Jebheh Melli and Tabarzadi’s group. I met with Mr. Tabarzadi a number of times since my brother used two of the rooms in their office. That is how I met Mr. Tabarzadi.·        My brother and I met the Foruhars a few times.·        The national Union had no role in the demonstration and whatever they say is a blatant lie designed to destroy the organization and slander its members.·        Manouchehr and Reza went to Europe and the US at the invitation of the Iranian student organization and Germany’s Green Party. I have no idea if they met with Monarchist groups. But I know for a fact that they had no meeting with Reza Pahlavi or any member of his family.·        It is a blatant lie to say that Manouchehr received funds from the CIA or Mossad. He was invited by the Iranian students and met with Iranian expatriates. ·        Unfortunately you always ask the same question of whether Manouchehr received money from either of these foreign agencies or whether Monarchists gave money to him and whether he used this “money” for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.I will tell you again and again that Manouchehr never got any funding from them. He has never had any relationship with Mossad or the CIA.  You should know better, you would know of their every step in the US.  You have so many agents there and you pay them so well that they will inform you as to all the activities of the opposition.  I must point out that our struggle is non-violent, peaceful and we have nothing to do with violence. Even the student demonstration was non-violent. It only got ugly when the bassij and Hezbollah set fire on people’s cars and their stores on that fateful Monday so that you could have an excuse to crush this peaceful demonstration.  So that you could tell the ordinary people, look these are the students who are destroying your personal property, who are acting violently; it was logically beneficial to you to let people assume the worse.First of all, you are lying to the bone that our students and members have made any such confessions. Secondly, whatever they may have said, you must have tortured them so badly that they wrote under duress.  These questions would then be repeated and of course I would say the same things at which time, the end result would be more flogging with the infamous cable. The 22^nd day Once again the same old questions on their part and the same replies on my part.  It would end with them ripping up the questionnaires and they would tell me that I was telling us bunch of falsities.  Then they would beat me hard, repeatedly all over. What disturbed me greatly and pained me enormously were the screams coming from Manouchehr and Reza.  I could hear them next door as they would flog them near the room where my interrogation was being conducted. They did this on purpose in order to make me suffer more. I could hear their cries of anguish.  It was emotionally devastating to me.I would hear others as well. These painful cries would not stop for one second in the first month that I was there.  I could hear women shouting, they would not even stop at torturing women. On July 8, they had arrested many young women and had brought them to Towhid prison. One of these ladies had given birth one month after her arrest in solitary confinement. She had to take care of the baby in that little cell. After the interrogation, the doctor had gone to see her, and had given her some tranquilizers and pain killers. We would see the doctor from time to time come in to administer some medicine for the pain. For one month I saw the same lady with her newborn at the prison infirmary.  Once I was standing in the same row to get medication, when I took off my blindfold to see who was there and what was being done to them, when the agents noticed and subsequently beat me. But it was worth the beatings as I could then find out who was in prison and whether any of my friends had been arrested.I must confess that after 6 years I may have forgotten all the questions that were asked from me as my memory lags at times. The 26^th day On this day, the interrogation was quite long and tedious. I was allowed only one hour of sleep in my cell. This time, the grilling stopped at 9 p.m. when they finally took me to my cell. In the morning of the next day they woke me up at 7 a.m. I had slept for ten hours straight after 27 days. This was the sweetest sleep ever and it seemed that my body had recuperated from lack of sleep after a long time. The 27^th day I was in cell # 623 in Towhid on the third floor. When I got up, the agent told me get up and put your blindfold on. Then he told me to follow him. I came to another room. He told me to wait for him. When I noticed he was gone I looked around and saw an old man in prison clothing. I asked him: who are you and why were you arrested?  He said, my name is Namazi and I was arrested during the 18 Tir riots.  He asked me who I was. I said that my name was Akbar Mohammadi and that I had been arrested at the university dorms as well. Mr. Namazi was one of the members of Hezbeh Mellat Iran( Iran Nation’s Party); I had heard about him and read his interviews but had never met him before. He did not know me but I am sure he knew my brother, Manouchehr.When I told him I was Manouchehr’s brother he spoke to me warmly and asked about him. I said he is in the same prison. When we heard the footsteps of the interrogator, we both stopped talking. Then they took us to the prison yard and put us in the patrol car, the one without a seat in the back. I noticed that there were other prisoners in the same car. They told us to lie down and take off our blindfold. I then saw Mehran Mir Abdolbaghi, and Hassan Yekta. There was one other person in the back. Two agents were seating next to him, and two with us. I then realized that it was my brother, Manouchehr.  They were so afraid of him that they had put two guards with him. I then noticed that there were a couple of Patrol cars in front of us and three behind us.  I said to myself, God, they must be so scared of us! They are such cowards.  Why all these guards?When we got to the courthouse, I saw Manouchehr and he saw me.  We embraced one another when the guards slapped us in the face and asked us who had given us permission to hug each other and who had given us permission to talk to each other. They were even afraid of us brothers kissing each other. Then the five of us went to the office of the head of Iran’s revolutionary court, Rahbarpoor. We sat within two meters of each other and next to us, sat a few agents of the Intelligence Ministry.  After a couple of hours, an official of the revolutionary Court came in and talked to Manouchehr and me separately. He asked us if we had an attorney.  Anyone’s name we came up with, they rejected. Then they told us, we will get you a court appointed lawyer. We objected. Then they threatened us that we either had to take it or leave it. We really had no choice; we knew that the court-appointed lawyer would do nothing in our defense.  Then someone called us to the adjacent room. It was our lawyer. He asked me, is your name Akbar?  I said yes, then he said, I am your lawyer, sign this paper and don’t make me force you to sign it!!! After I signed the paper, he said, young man, aren’t you ashamed to have revolted against the Islamic Republic? I told him: have you come here to defend me or to question me? He immediately changed his line of questioning; I told him I was never involved in the events at the university dorms.He then asked me if I needed anything and if I had any questions. I asked him to please call my house and let them know that M. and I were arrested during the 18 Tir events and that we were presently at the Information Ministry’s prison. Then he took my hand and told the agent, “Akbar has told me to call his house and let his family know that he and Manouchehr are in prison. Do I have permission to do so?” At which point, the agent gave me a few slaps on the face and said, “You must be dreaming of seeing your family or the light of freedom. You will be executed very soon.” This was how my appointed lawyer had defended me! After this conversation, they took Mr. Namazi, Mirabdolbaghi and Yekta to Towhid prison. At around 12 noon, they took Manouchehr as well. When they brought him back after one hour, they had cut his hair, shaved him, and cleaned him up so that he would be presentable. Then they told us to go inside the courtroom.  We sat there for a few hours in one of the rooms when the agent told me to get up.  Apparently, Manouchehr’s trial was over. I then saw him leave the courtroom, and a few agents came out. I asked the agent if I could ask a few questions from my brother about his trial. He said that it was OK. I asked him what had happened in the court room;  Manouchehr told me he had said that he knew nothing.   Our court- appointed lawyer said to us, “well, if Manouchehr is not condemned to death he will surely get life imprisonment.” I was choking. Manouchehr hugged me and kissed me. I got teary at this time when the interrogators hit me again. They took us to Towhid once again.  The 28^th day: On the 28^th day, they took the four of us, Messrs. Namazi, Yekta, and Mir Abdolbaghi, and myself to the revolutionary court. They put us in the room for the accused. We entered the room blindfolded.They told us to sit on the chairs which were far from one another. They told usnot to talk to each other. I noticed that there were about 30 prisoners, all from Evin, who were there at the same time, talking and laughing with each other.But we could not say a word sitting next to each other. After two hours, they told us to take off our blindfolds. I took it off and saw that there was a hairdresser in front of me. I told him, “I guess you are here to clean us up so that when you put us in front of the cameras you could tell everyone how well you have treated us.”  I was talking loudly so that everyone could hear me.Then I said, “Yesterday you prepared my brother for his execution and now you are telling us to get ready to face the same fate.  I am so sorry for you who are taking part in the killing of innocent freedom loving people, shame on all of you!”He said in response that he had had no choice; he had to do this to make ends meet.  I said, “I hope this money that you make will stick in your throat and that of your dictator bosses like poison.”After shaving me, they took me to another room which was full of security guards, MI agents and officers of the Revolutionary court.  Then they closed the door.After a few minutes, the judge came and announced the proceedings.  The court proceedings were as about to start with verses from the Koran. A young man read out loud. Then the judge said that the proceedings were now open to the public! I must admit that he was either an idiot or pretended to be one. What public trial? All of them were their own agents; there was not a single cameraman or a journalist.  There were two video cameras which were from the Ministry of Information.  Even before this mockery of a trial, the head of the trial, Mr. Kavoosi, from the 8^th district called me to tell to read the proceedings carefully. And then he said, “You must answer accordingly!” I told him, “the proceedings have not eve begun yet and you are already threatening me with death. I am terribly sorry for you. You are a judge and you are only allowed to sentence me and to defend justice and not condemn me beforehand.  You are an oppressor like the rest of the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence; before the hearing is over, you have already sentenced me to death.Before the start of the trial, the judge announced that one of the interrogators, an agent of the Ministry would testify about Akbar Mohammadi’s activities at the University.   Then an interrogator with dark features and 1.85 in height entered a room. He had been my interrogator for a month and told me to take off my blindfolds and to turn around. When I did so I saw that he was the same person present in the courtroom and who had made accusations against me. He was the one who had told me, “Akbar, I have dealt with you honestly; I will let you take your blindfold off, so that you can talk easily. Be honest and tell us everything you have done.” I demurred.  “Come and write what you can about your friends,” he went on. I demurred again.  He said, “then come and tell us about those whom you do not know.” Once again, I said no. He then said, Akbar, come and save yourself from possible death and write what we tell you, you will guarantee your freedom. He heard the same answer.  There were 5 others who had interrogated me. What I said in my trial were the same things I had told my interrogators. Then he looked at the judge and said, “I will now read what his friends have said about him.”  “Akbar was the main instigator at the dorms, the main person who started the whole protest. When he came to the dorms, there was security and stability there but with the influence he had among the students,he continued to make provocations.  It was on his orders that a good many Molotov cocktails were made which were used against the security guards.Akbar’s goal in instigating these incidents was to spread it all over the country and make sure other people would hear about it.  This was intended eventually to overthrow the regime. Akbar took it upon himself to organize the students, who were able to reduce the presence of security forces from the dormitories. When the dormitory guards locked the entrance, Akbar broke down the doors since he wanted to bring the protests from the dormitories to the streets.It was on the orders of Akbar Mohammadi that the students got entangled with the security forces and those in civilian clothing and began chanting slogans against the regime’s officials, the leadership, Velayat Faghih, the clergy and the security forces.  Since most of the students knew him,in order to provoke them even further, he made sure that they started chanting harsher slogans, he stood at the head of the demonstration, he would get closer to the security agents and or would throw stones, or Molotov cocktails so that the students would become fearless and would fiercely oppose the security forces. Manouchehr, Akbar’s brother, is the main perpetrator, and he has had a decisive role in provoking the students. I must reiterate that there were about 30 accusations against me by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence but I could only remember a few.  At this time, the interrogator said, his own friends have testified against him and they have confirmed that both Manouchehr and Akbar  were behind all the incidents.   I then got up from my seat and said to the judge, “if my friends have really testified against me then give me their names. Even if they have testified against me, it was under duress for they could not endure the floggings and were forced to write their confessions.” At this point the judge asked me how I could have seen these people if I was always blindfolded. In response, I told Kavoosi that I had been in the flogging room when two of my friends were brought in. When they were flogged with the cable they begged the interrogators to stop, saying that they would tell them what they needed to know; they told them to write what they asked about me. I recognized their voices and could see them from underneath my blindfold; they were lying on the bed. An elephant flogged 5 times with that cable would not have tolerated the pain. How much do you think the human body can take? The judge told me, “if these floggings are so painful, why don’t you confess?” I said, “I don’t know; I guess God has given me lots of patience and endurance. But I have not confessed because it’s so unfair. I wanted to reply to the interrogator when the judge said, be quiet for now, you will answer the questions one by one as they are addressed to you.  I replied to the first question: “I was neither the mastermind nor the one who organized the events at the dorms. I am only a student in the social work program; I see my duty to help out whenever I am needed. The dormitory is my home. When they attacked the dorms and set fire on them, naturally, many of the students and I collaborated to defend our home.”At this moment, the judge said sarcastically, Oh, I didn’t know you were a social worker!  I told him, you don’t have the right to ridicule me.  Then he said, shut your mouth you weasel of a social worker! It is you and people like you who are ruining this country. The dormitory is a public place, the security guards have every right to enter it and get rid of unwanted elements. I said in response, I am truly sorry for you who don’t recognize your position. You say whatever you want, like those in the Ministry of Intelligence.  You have no right to make fun of what I do. In reply to the second question I said, when I entered the university dorms, the security elements were already attacking the students but the students were able to kick them out. As a student in the social work program, I tried to help them out. I consider myself the servant of the people; I love my country and my people and will do my utmost to help those in need.  When I saw that the students were being suppressed, I saw my duty to help them out.I provided cold water for them. I even did the same thing for some of the security people who were sitting on the hot asphalt in the yard. I am a social worker, therefore I will help anybody, even the enemy. It was at this time that Kavoosi said, “get up you no good social worker!You are not a social worker; you are a weasel. You are the enemy of our Government; all these events have been instigated by you and your brother.You wanted to overthrow this blessed regime of ours. You are bunch of worthless individuals!!” I said again to Mr. Kavoosi, “you have absolutely no right to insult me. You are a judge and your position does not allow this.  I am a social worker and am proud of it. I am the peoples’ and the students’ servant. I regret the fact that you are forgetting what position you are in.  The students have done nothing wrong, they have only protested the harsh realities of our society, the many injustices, the corruption.  The guards, people in civilian clothes who set fire on the dormitories, injured many, killed a few and burned down many buildings. Why don’t you find the real criminals? How awful that you are doing the opposite.    At this time, the judge got very angry; again he said, “shut up you stupid moron.  Who has killed the students? No one has been killed. You are supporters of America and Israel; these are lies that you spread.  I must note that whenever the judge would say something derogatory or I would make a comment to their dislike he would order the video guy to stop the video and rewind it or erase those comments.  They wanted to video and show the public only what they wanted but fortunately they were not able to get anything from me or be able to show it on TV.” In response to the judge on another question, I said, I don’t even know how to make Molotov cocktails.  In any case, I have never been involved in any activities at the dorms.I only provided cold water for the students.  Mr. Kavoosi who got upset again started to curse me and insult me with ugly words. He would tell the cameramen to stop the camera when I spoke about injustice.  I told him again, you as the presiding judge are not permitted to insult the accused, but you are worst than the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence who use the same tactic. This isn’t a fair public trial. A court which does not ask why a critic like me is treated this way, a court of law which should take the side of justice does not ask how I was treated at the hands of your agents, and according to you it is an Islamic court, allows itself to make accusations or insult the so-called accused, in this case, me.  As a judge in this country you put to shame the law.He said to me, in his angry tone, I told you to shut up; I am the one who makes the law; I am free to do as I please and you must abide by my rules. I said to him, you have no right to insult me or anyone else.I repeated myself:  as a student in social work program, I provided cold water for my friends in the summer heat. I did nothing wrong.  I helped them when the dormitories, our home were being attacked. Again, I defended our home. I had nothing to do with the unrest.Most students at Tehran University know me. Because my brother is a student there, I was always visiting him. I would mingle with many students and knew them.  In the demonstrations I only asked them how they were, I had no leadership role.  I never told anyone to make Molotov cocktails nor did I lead the demonstrations. These are all lies in order to make me look guilty. Then after a few more questions, the judge announced that the “public”proceedings were over and that the trial would continue the following week.No such proceeding took place the following week! Before the end of the trial, the court-appointed lawyer spoke a little. Then the judge announced the end of the trial. When the judge and the lawyer were still in the courtroom, the intelligence agents took my hands and harshly, like violent wolves, reproached me for having said that I was tortured by them.They said, now when we take you back to prison, we are going to make life hell for you. Unfortunately, the judge would not listen to me, and my so-called lawyer told me that he didn’t really care. So much for the judge and the lawyer! When we left the room and I was taken to prison, they started to beat me and surely life was made hell for me. Twenty-ninth day From the twenty ninth day to nearly two months after my arrest,  the interrogation was reduced from 23 hours to 17-18 hours a day. I had 6 hours of rest in my cell.Those were the sweetest days for me, since I could sleep a little for a few hours . The tortures had been reduced. At this time, I was only flogged 6-7 times a day, slapping on the face was less so as were the beatings on the body.  On the thirty first day  In the evening they announced that all those in solitary confinement should pack up and get ready to leave. I was very happy. I thought that surely we would be freed since I had heard that when they called the names of people, they would be freed so that in this case also, even in the evening, when they told us to pack, we would be freed as well. After a while, they opened each cell and told us to get in a row.  We said calmly to each other that now after a month, our freedom is near. But it was a futile thought. We were taken to other cells. I was taken to cell number 223 and the rest of the prisoners to other cells.   I was in cell no. 623, and next to me, in no. 622, there was a young man with a long beard. Whenever I would go to the bathroom, I would look through the lens which was installed in my cell into the other one.Since three cells were adjacent to each other, and they were not in a row, and since the guard would open the cell to the right and left,  he would return to his seat while the two of us would use the bathroom facility. When he would get up to close the door, I had a little time to sneak in the cell next door to me.Sometimes, I would push against the door but would not hear anything. But when I was taken to cell 223 I saw the guy with the long beard.  After a few hours, when we got to the lower level cell, I heard that someone pounding on the doors; I was really happy since that meant that there was a prisoner next door that I could begin a rapport with. So I returned the pounding in a slow motion.  When the long bearded guy returned my call, I shouted, hail to you,Thank you for your positive response. At this point, the guard heard the pounding but could not tell where the noise was coming from. They had tortured me so much that aside from mental pressures, I had constant pain in the lower back and in my heart; sometimes I would moan so much that I didn’t know what to do. I would pound on the wall just to release the pain. I would ask for painkillers to ease the pain. But the guard would threaten me, “If you raise your voice, I will flog you even more.”Sometimes the moaning from the pain would turn into loud cries and they would actually flog me for that reason. Sometimes I would hear Manouchehr’s voice and the interrogators who would tell him, you know we will execute you. This would even pain me further and my heart would ache; at this time, I would take medicine in order to ease the horrible pain.  One day in the early evening, I overheard the interrogators who were talking, saying “tomorrow we will take Manouchehr to his execution.”  Afterwards, I heard one of them say “take this rope and get ready for tomorrow morning; your life is over, you traitor.” This was of course part of the mental torture on prisoners; they would say it aloud so I could hear them. When hearing their words, my heart would ache; on the one hand the excruciating physical pain and on the other hand hearing the news of possible execution of my brother. In the evening, unconsciously I began to cry. I could not hold myself. This continued for 3 days. I would cry out loud sometimes, so loud that my cries and moaning would be heard throughout the hallway.  During these 3 days, they only took me twice for interrogation. I would say nothing in their presence nor would I cry. They would ask me to fill out the questionnaire and I would say with anger, you have executed my brother then get rid of me too.Leave me alone. Why should I fill out the forms?  For three days, they pretended that they had executed Manouchehr. These three days were hell for me.  It was as if the whole world had ended. Sometime in my cell, the guards would come and shout at me, telling me to shut up and that I was not allowed to be loud, and then I would tell them to just come and put me to death so that I would be free from them, Then after the third day, they brought Manouchehr near my cell and I found out that he was still alive, he had not been executed. When I heard his voice I was so relieved; I didn’t know what to do. I was overjoyed. After a few days, I heard them say again, “make the ropes ready, we have another one for execution.” The other agent asked him, whose turn is it now?He said, it’s Akbar Mohammadi’s.  I asked myself, will these SOB’s reallyexecute me? On the one hand, I said, well, maybe I will be freed from allthe torture; on the other hand I would say, maybe this is just a ploy just like how they did it with Manouchehr. Then I realized their intent was to pressure me mentally; I then would ponder the idea that most of my family and friends did not even know that I had been arrested let alone that I am at hands of the MI and that I might be in fact executed. Then I decided to let person next to my cell know that I was Akbar Mohammadi and that they were talking about me. Of course, I knew that most of the prisoners had heard these conversations and for sure the person next to my cell had also heard it.Thus I began to talk to him and told him I was Akbar Mohammadi. I said, “I beg you that if you stay alive, and are freed tell everyone that I was arrested during the university incidents and were executed. I am a student at Tehran University’s school of Health and Human Services.” Since I knew that he might forget my home telephone number, I just told him that I was a student at that school. He could then find out my telephone number. But I would tell myself that he might also be on death row so I should tell others in the prison area when they take me,  to make a scene and start shouting that they are going to kill me soon. I am sure some prisoners would hear it and would notify my family. It was around one o’clock at night when I finally went to sleep.I woke up at five in the morning.  I was waiting for the executioners.But I waited and no one came until 7:30 in the morning and then they broughtme my breakfast.  I knew that they had no intention of killing me since most of the executions take place before 6 in the morning. The bearded man who was in the cell next to mine would talk to himself after he found out who I was. I heard him say repeatedly, God, please have mercy on this young man, don’t let him be executed. When the next day at around 8 he found out that I had not been executed, he calmed down.    An important fact on mental torture One of the ways that they would put pressure on me mentally was to take Manouchehr to the flogging room, after which they would use the cable on my body. When Manouchehr would cry his head off, I would be in so much mental pain.  When they would whip me with the cable, they would bring M. in, but since I would not speak while being whipped, they would tell M.,“take off your blindfold a bit so you can see your brother being flogged.Since Akbar does not shout nor talks during whipping, you think we will do nothing else to him, but we will make life miserable for him.  With this tactic they would try to mentally torture both of us. Another incident that occurred 50 days after my arrest took place when Mr. Namazi and I were in Towhid prison and were taken to the revolutionary court. Before getting into the car, they chained our hands and feet together. Even though we were both blindfolded, we had to put our heads down. When we arrived at the courthouse, instead of them taking us by elevators, we had to walk the stairs. We were taken to Rahbarpour’s room, the head of the revolutionary court. His office was on the 4^th floor.  All the while we were going up the stairs, being chained together, they would force us to go faster; a few times, Mr. Namazi fell down. They would shout at him, “Get up you bum.” Mr. Namazi, who was an old man, was unable to go up the stairs, so they would insult him repeatedly. At this time, Mr. Namazi said to them, “I don’t think even Yazid would have treated his captors the way you treat us.”  Then they took me to Rahabarpoor’s office. I waited outside of his office for two hours; they then unchained us and took Mr. Namazi to his office where he talked to Rahbarpour for a few minutes. Then it was my turn.  Someone in a clergy outfit was sitting there. It was Rahbarpour himself. For five minutes we were both quiet. Then he said, “well young man why don’t you say something?”  I said to him, “what do you want me to say?”   He then said, “I came to prison to ask you the same thing. I am the same cleric who asked you why you didn’t confess and you said you had nothing to say to me. And I slapped you twice. Yes, I am Rahbarpoor, the head of the revolutionary courts.  Now I am telling you to talk so that I can help you.” I told him that I had nothing to say.” Furiously he said, “Be sure that I will have you executed!” Then he shouted, “get out of my office. Come and take him from my room. I don’t want to see his face.” When I was leaving the courthouse, I saw that people were sitting on the chairs and looking at me thinking that maybe we were some kind of criminals the way we looked. Or that maybe we had killed a hundred people, and that is why we were here.  The day that I went with Mr. Namzi to the revolutionary court, the Center of injustice, discrimination, and treachery against our people, is a day I shall never forget.  The 60^th day I believe two months had passed when an interrogator who often would take me, entered my cell and told me to go to the interrogation room. He said to me, “Akbar, if you don’t talk today, you will have signed your death warrant.This new guy has condemned over 60 people to death. If you don’t confess, he will send you to the death squad.”  I believe this interrogator was no more than 30 years old.  He always cursed and insulted me, using foul language. When they took me in, underneath the blindfold I noticed that there was a conference table. There were ten interrogators sitting around it. I was sat in front of one who was a big fellow. I told him that I had said and written whatever I knew and that I didn’t have anything new to tell him.They repeated the same old questions.  The third round of questioning was about to begin when he said, “if you don’t tell us more, I swear that I will kill you today.”  I replied that I had nothing to say. The big guy got very angry, got up and threw me to the door.  He was so tall, 170 meters; I looked like a mouse in front of an elephant.  I wanted to take off my blindfold when the other interrogators attacked me, took my hands by force and the big one started beating me brutally.  The beatings were extremely vicious. For nearly 40 minutes they beat me non-stop. He took my hair and hit my head against the wall.  I got dizzy, all my clothes were bloodied, and blood was on the floor. I could not take it anymore. I shouted, “You animals, you criminals, you oppressors, why are you doing this to me? If you want me to go mad, just put a syringe in me and make me insane.  You are torturing yourself and me.”It was then that the big guy said, “we are just kidding with you, don’t you realize that?!”  He then said, “you have only been tortured for two months.I was in the Iraqi torture chambers for two years and never protested. I told him, “I am really sorry that you were tortured by foreigners, but you are doing this to your own compatriot, to a student who has only been a critic.Isn’t written in the constitution, that criticizing the leadership, freedom of speech and the right to participate in peaceful gatherings is the right of every Iranian citizen? Aren’t peaceful demonstrations allowed?  Isn’t mental or physical torture illegal? Aren’t those who commit these acts to be prosecuted?You have done so much harm to the people that 90% of them want to take their revenge on you. You have committed innumerable atrocities.    The interrogator told me in response that it wasn’t true, that my numbers were wrong. I said to him, “You agents of the Ministry of Intelligence are ruling the country. Why don’t you go and get some polls and you will see that 90% of the people are against you. Even 99% want your blood. It is all because of all the horrors you have inflicted. You swore to be the servants of the people not the servant of the rulers. You have become mercenaries of the ruling class, for greed and money you are committing every horrific anti-human act; you have lost your conscious; for positions and money, you will do anything against your own people.  You have made life hell for me and those like me all those who are your critics. Why don’t you learn from European and American intelligence services which protect their own people. People feel safe and can breathe freedom in their protection.  Their agents gather information from other countries in order to save their own people from possible harm, and look what you do, you are subservient to the ruling elite and you will stop at nothing to make our lives miserable. These conversations took an hour and a half at which point the interrogation and torture stopped for 5 days. It was like they had given me the world.I said to myself, maybe my words affected them. But after five days, the same thing continued, the same mental and physical torture.                   Flogging the feet is so painful Before they took me to begin the flogging with the cable, the interrogator told me: This time we will whip your feet with the cable so hard that you will not even be able to wear Papa Noel’s (Santa Claus) shoes!At that time, I did not understand the meaning of this threat. But then I understood.  My feet were all swollen from the beating, so that I could not even wear slippers. I had so much pain that even to go to the bathroom I could not wear shoes.  It was a terrible pain. I could not walk easily. When I was in solitary confinement, there were two guards who were relatively good natured, they would help me out and would bring me back to my cell.You cannot ignore those who are nice to you. I can’t forget the two guards.Even in hell, there are angels.  Medicine for amnesia One day after taking a medicine, presumably a pain killer, I noticed that someone came in and saw me with a pen and a piece of paper and told me to give it to him.  This is mine, I said, I have written on it. He attacked me and took the paper and tore it up. He left my cell and I noticed I had only a blank piece of paper; I am not sure what they had gotten from me, I could not remember anything, for I think they must have given me a medicine to make me forget. Two toe nails and the case against my father One day they took me to court to see the same judge who had handled my case, Kavoosi.  He gave me a document which showed that my father hadwritten a letter to prison officials, that Akbar’s toe nails had been pulled under torture. There was a letter from the university and the one from my father which was sent to the court. My father had asked to see me.  Now, Kavoosi had made a claim against my father, he was both the claimant and the one handling my father’s case!   I said to him, “I never told my father that my toe nails were pulled, I told him because of the flogging to my feet and as a result of injury, my nails had fallen off. Of course, it is not far from the truth. If a father cannot defend his son, who can come to his defense? You have tortured me and it means nothing to you. What do you want from me? If you are going to make a case against my father, then I shall tell every one of the tortures you have inflicted on me. Then you will have no reputation left.   Promise thatyou will forego the case.” Kavoosi said; Ok, I promise. He then closed the dossier. After 3 months, more interrogators came from Amol and Mazandaran.This was when Mr. Ja’fari from the Nation’s Party had been brought to my cell. For two days, Mr. Ja’fari and I spent time together which was a blessing.To be able to talk to someone after three and a half month was quite a treat.He was one of those old guys who was happy, upbeat and had no fear. I had been tortured to the extent that I had no energy to talk, had no enthusiasm but he would tell jokes and recite poetry to make me feel better. After all the timeThat I had been lonely, being with him was as if I had been given a gift.When we were together, one could hear the loud noise of the vent which was on 24 hours a day and the religious sermons for the dead (Aza) in loudspeakers; Mr. Ja’fari told me: “Akbar, didn’t those horrible noises drive you insane?” I told him, “yes, I protested but then they flogged me again.”After two days, the interrogators came from Amol.  I told them that I had nothing to say to them, that I had nothing to say to anyone anymore. Then the one from Tehran said, well, think twice, because if you say nothing, we will take you down in the basement for more flogging. Then the Mazandarni guys spoke to me in our dialect. They wanted to know in what kind of activities I was involved in Mazandaran before being arrested. Who were my friends there? I told them nothing. The Tehrani guy said, Ok now I shall take you to the basement. I said, fine take me. I don’t care. Actually they took me back to my cell. I was with Mr. Ja’fari for another 4 days when they came and took him.  Other forms of torture They would take me to the flogging room. They would put me on the bed; handcuff me to the bed. Then they would use a rope to bind my feet to the bed. They put heavy weights on my back, which would drive me to the brink of insanity as the weight was heavy. I could not move since my body was totally bounded. Even if they had not bound me, I still would not have been able to move with the enormous weight on my back.The pain would get worse by the minute; this type of torture would continue for 2-3 hours; I could not move even after they had lifted the weight but later, the terrible pain would subside. Manouchehr and I tortured together They would torture us the same way, same timing. Most of the time, They would put the two of us next to each other especially when flogging uswith the cable. They wanted to put pressure on us mentally.  During the arrest One of the things I would do during the my torture was to chant slogans like “Death to tyranny” and “long live Freedom”.  My sentencing at the revolutionary court  Four days before my arrest in the notorious Towhid prison, Manouchehr,Reza and I were taken to the revolutionary court. For twenty minutes we satIn the office of the 8^th district judge with three agents who accompanied us.But the judge was not there yet, so the office manager came and gave usour sentence decree. This is your sentence, he said, which was astonishing.What I recall from that piece of paper is the following:Akbar Mohammadi, who after arriving at university dormitories which had been stabilized by security forces quickly organized his fellow students and started to incite a rebellion; after confronting the security guards violently they led themout of the dormitories and began their ascent in a methodical way towards  Amir Abad street.  On the orders of Akbar and Manouchehr, two truck loads of Molotov cocktails where brought in and violent confrontations took place from the area of Amir Abad to the intersection of Unknown Martyr Street, where the security forces had retreated. People on Amir Abad came to the help of the students, violence escalated. And again, on his orders, harsh slogans were chanted against the officials of the Islamic regime. These were the kind of slogans that no one had dared to chant in the city prior to this incident. For the first time, it had become normal to chant such slogans.  The spell had been broken. It was Akbar’s goal to continue the incitement and make sure that it becomes widespread throughout the country.  The rebellion then spread to other parts of the country which was about to bring down thehallowed system of the Islamic Republic.  Millions of toumans of damage was done. Because of such illegal activities, Akbar Mohammadi, member of the central committee in defense of political prisoners, is considered to be Mohareb ba Khoda (anti-God element) and his punishment will be to be executed according to the sentence by being put in a sack and thrown down from an elevated area. While I was reading the decree, Mr. Kavoosi from the 8^th district court arrived. I asked him whether I could speak to him for a few moments, to which he agreed.  I told him, “be honest now, and let me have the last word now that you have sentenced me to death.” He told me to be quick. (The three agents were sitting next to me.)  I said, “My first question is, on what basis why did you sentence me to death?” The judge replied, “I handed down your sentence according to the law.”  “What law?” I asked.  “First of all, you have used the account of two eyewitnesses who are both in prison and who are also condemned, and most probably their confessions were extracted under torture, by force and according to the same law, whereas the testimony of accused individuals against another accused person is without legal grounds.  You are in fact denouncing your own laws, plus you don’t believe in the law of the land.  Secondly, the Constitution allows any type of peaceful demonstration or march. The students had a peaceful gathering but, unfortunately, they were attacked violently. One of the items in the Constitution allows for the organization of any type of party or gathering; there is no need for permits; all types of physical and mental torture are prohibited and whoever engages in such acts is subject to punishment.  You and your superiors have ordered the use of torture. Our life was a total hell in prison. You who claim to uphold the law are the first who have broken the law.  At this time, Judge Kavoosi told me:  “Ok, now that you have said what you wanted, leave.” I told him: “tell me the truth; how many people have you condemned to death? How many heavy sentences have you handed down? Why do you take innocent lives with the sentences you bestow?  Is it worth it to inflict so much injustice? I know why you are doing it. You are a young lad who wants to get ahead in his career.  It is possible that by sentencing me to death, you will become the next prosecutor general of Tehran. Your salary will be doubled. You must receive benefit of the injustices you have committed. These Ministry of Intelligence agents, too, will surely get their share of the pie, get more income and will have higher positions. It is shameful that in the country we live in, a few tyrants and dictators have committed unspeakable crimes only and only to get to higher positions. Is it fair to inflict so much cruelty and misery to your own compatriots just because they have fought for freedom and want to live freely?  Why is it that a few evil men are committing atrocities in the name of religion? You are the defenders of oppressors and traitors to this land; instead of defending the people you are on the side of those who destroy lives. You are the slaves and servants of the hungry wolves who will stop at nothing to destroy the integrity of the Iranian nation. I continued: what I ask of you is, when you go home tonight, tell you wife and kids about me, about my case and ask yourself, what crime have I committed to deserve such a sentence? And think of all the other cases you have tried and have put innocent lives in harm’s way? If you have an ounce of humanity and integrity, and would not sell your conscience for position, career and the rest, just think a little tonight. Is life worth selling one’s humanity and integrity for at any cost?  Remember that none of the worldly positions will remain with you forever. There comes a time, when you and others have to answer to the crimes you have committed. Today, you may issue my death sentence with a stroke of a pen but tomorrow you have to answer in the people’s court.”  Raising his voice, he shouted to the agents: “take this traitor away, throw him out of the court.”  I then chanted: “death to tyranny and long live freedom.”The agents gave me a few slaps in the face in front of Judge Kavoosi and took me to the office of the court clerk. Manouchehr and Reza had heard me; they asked me what had happened. I remained silent; he issued my death warrant.   In front of the agents, both said that they would not dare execute the sentence.  At this time, they took all of us back to prison.  They treated me with humiliation and cruelty again after taking me back to prison. Two days after my sentence, they took me to a cell where there were 4 other people, Mr. Mehran Mir Abdolbaghi, from Iran Nation’s Party, Ali- Reza Aghaee, from the central committee of the Islamic students at Amir Kabir University and another person who had been arrested alongside others for printing and distributing Mr. Montazeri’s book. There was a Pasdar (revolutionary guard) named Khorsand Kia who with his brother was later with me in the cell block 209.  I must say that these two brothers interacted in a very nice way with me. After my sentence had been issued, I wrote a letter to the head of prison stating that if in twenty-four hours, I would not be allowed to visit with my family or make a call to them, or be transported to the general block, I would go on a hunger strike. I also asked for my immediate release from prison. Since I did not hear anything from them after 24 hours, I started my hunger strike. For one week, I remained on hunger strike in Towhid prison. After a week, they finally took me to Evin, to cell block # 209 which belonged to the Ministry of Intelligence.  For the first two hours I was in solitary confinement, then to cell # 209, then to cell number 9 and 10. When I got there, Mr. Namazi, and the spokesman for the Nation’s Party were there as well as Seyed Mohammad Ali Nejatolhosseini, who was one of the staunch supporters of Mr. Montazeri.  He had been hung upside down for so long that he could not walk and was very weak. Mr. Namazi was also in constant pain from Sciatic. I was there for three days when the prison officials asked me to break my strike. I said, only on condition that I would be allowed to talk to my family, phone them or have access to a lawyer.They were trying to break my strike by having other prisoners persuade me to give it up. They said, “Since Akbar won’t break his hunger strike none of you are allowed to talk to him.” I had nausea and wanted to vomit, when Mr. Kamali, the head of our section, came in.  Then he asked each of us what our problem was. They also addressed the two brothers, who were in prison for reasons unknown to me.      One of the brothers said to Mr. Kamali that it was my every right to get a                      lawyer and be allowed to have family visits. He then continued in a harsh tone,    “you are taking away Akbar’s basic right. You have sentenced him to death, he   has been on a hunger strike for 9 days now, at least let him be allowed to have his last wishes. Where is your humanity?” Because of what he said, the imprisoned Pasdar was given 15 days of solitary confinement. On the tenth day of my hunger strike, Mr. Kamali came in and told me to break it.  I told him I must get what I asked for.  My general health at this time had deteriorated and I was throwing up all the time when the other brother also objected and he too was taken to solitary confinement. When in the afternoon of that same day, they saw that I did not give up my strike, they took me to a solitary (cell #38).  I was in solitary for 13 days in 209; my hunger strike lasted for a total of 23 days.              On the first few days in solitary they would force me to go to the prison hospital. I would not let them put an IV in me or give me a syringe so they would just keep me in solitary #209.  There were 3 or 4 prisoners and a few agents who would try to keep me chained to the bed so that they could put the ivy. But my condition was getting worse; I would shout and curse the Islamic authorities.  It is better to remain quiet during a hunger strike, because when you are loud or speak, the nausea tends to get worse.  I was becoming weaker and weaker until the 21^st day when they took me to the hospital ward again; I weighed 35 kilos. Since I had terrible nausea, the doctor gave me a shot of anti-nausea medicine. When the nurse tried to give me a shot in the muscle, the doctor got very angry and shouted at her, “why are you giving him a shot in the muscles? This poor young man is just flesh and bones. You must put the medicine in the IV.” I felt dizzy and could not see anything. I could not even stand up alone. A few agents helped me out. I didn’t eve have the energy of a small infant. When at the end of the strike, the heating system did not function, and they were trying to bring a new heating system in the cell, the noise from the workers working there was driving me crazy. On top of it, I had the horrible nausea. I had nothing in my stomach so the nausea was even more agonizing. Every 5 minutes I wanted to throw up. Even if I took a drop of water I would throw up. The guards could not open the doors to my cell, since my body smelled gross, just like a dead body which has been left to rot. My mouth tasted and smelled bad. On the 21^st day, they took my blood pressure; the doctor told the guard that my pressure had come down to 2 and that my condition was terribly dangerous.  On the 23^rd day, the head of cell #209 and Mr. Haj Mansour and the head of Intelligence at 209 came into the cell and told me: “Fine Akbar we have accepted all your demands, break your strike now.”I told them, “you must swear on the holy Koran that you will do as you promise and take me back the general ward. Secondly, you must let me call my house right now. And then obtain a lawyer.”  In response they said that they had accepted all my terms.  Before going to the general ward, I phoned my house; and told them to come for a visit on that day and to get a lawyer for me first. They then took me to the ward.Two days after arriving there, I started eating.  I started to eat soft food, and milk. But the vomiting continued all day, and the nausea only went away after an entire week. A day after I came back to the general ward, one of the brothers (revolutionary guards) told me that Tehran Televisions had announced a week ago that one of the students involved in the 18 Tir protest had been given the final sentence.  When I heard this news I choked and I shouted, but I did not even have the chance to get a lawyer. I wrote protest letter to the courts. “But they did not let me defend myself nor have proper representation; other sentences take years before they are even accepted by the higher court.”  I was shouting loud, I felt lonely and realized what this corrupt regime was doing to me. I was shouting at them. I felt quite alone: why so much torture and why a sentence in just a week? How come I am being tortured so much more than others and not allowed to have visitors or telephone my family?  Others are allowed to have visits and telephone their families, and even have attorneys. But I am deprived of everything. Two or three days after I had ended my hunger strike, Mr. Kamali asked to see me. The head of the interrogation for cell number 209 was also present. “Akbar, he told me, “we don’t want you here not a single day, just write a letter to the leader (Khamenei) and say you made a mistake and ask for forgiveness.” I got really angry and told him, “I am not the one who should ask for forgiveness; rather it is Mr. Khamenei and all those who have ordered my torture.” Mr. Kamali said, “don’t be stubborn Akbar, we don’t know when your sentence will be handed down, it could be any day now. If you ask for mercy, not only the sentence will be forgiven, who knows, you may even be freed.”I repeated my words again and I returned to the cell. Mr. Namazi and Mr. Mokhber came to me and asked what had happened? I told them what Mr. Kamali had said, that they promised to free me if I ask for mercy. But I am not going to do it. I will never do it. It is Mr. Khamenei who should ask for mercy. Mr. Namazi told me the same thing, that I should never do such a thing. I was in cell block 209 for over 4 months during which time they asked me the same thing 30 times.  My answer was always negative.  It is now 6 years that I have been in prison.  More than a hundred times, they have asked me to plead with the leader for forgiveness.  The presiding judge in prison and the head of prison asked both Manouchehr and me to ask for mercy, and both of us have said no.When I was in cell 209, the group Mahdaviat under the leadership of Ayatollah Milani were also in the same cell block in Towhid Prison. Its members had been brutally tortured including Haj Hedayat’s group and Reza Ameli.  Ayatollah Milani got quite sick while in prison and died.  But I am sure the regime got rid of him. The rest of the members of the group were freed a year ago, except Mr. Reza Ameli who has been sentenced to life and is now in Rajai Shahr prison.  The second phase of the hunger strike  On the first anniversary of 18 Tir, Manouchehr, Mehrdad Lehrasbi and Farokh Shafi’ and I began another hunger strike. This time it lasted for 17 days. We shook hands with Mr. A that we would continue our strike until the 18^th. The head of prison, Mr. Ghourchian, asked us not to go on a strike as it would be very costly to both of us. M. and I said, do whatever you want. Then he looked over to Mr. A. and said, “you are one of us, we gave you what you wanted, why are you doing this?”  He said, “why did you take my letter and did not let me send it?”  Mr. Ghourchian said, “I will call right now and tell them to send your letter.”  Then, Mr. A said, “fine I will not go on a strike; I got upset with him and told him but you promised not to break your strike until the 18^th of Tir.” He said: “well, I got what I wanted and will not have anything to do with anyone.” I told him, “Mr. A. you are a crook and a traitor.” Then they took the four of us to solitary and brought us back after 17 days.  Mr. A. remained in the general cell.  All day he would tell his friends and his relatives that he was still on hunger strike and that he was in terrible shape and that he might be dying. But everyone told us that he would eat food even after they had taken us to solitary. Mr. Ghourchian and our other cell mates, Davood Maleki, Abbas Keshvari and the late Mohsen Reza Zadeh,  were present in his office, when Mr. A. had told him how sorry he was for going on hunger strike; “I promise not to be a party to the actions of these traitors and anti-revolutionary elements,” He said.  He even started crying and repeated how sorry he was.  We heard this news from Mr. Keshvari, Maleki and Reza Zadeh when we came back from solitary.  There were others present there, including Hossein Yekta who told us how Mr. A had pleaded with Mr. Ghourchian and had told him we were traitors.  Unfortunately, Mr. A. did this repeatedly and because of it he did not even spend one hour in solitary.  He lied about his hunger strike. Some people outside the prison had no idea about Mr. A., who he was and what he had done. He had cooperated fully with prison officials and had sold out his own friends.  The third phase Manouchehr and I went on another hunger strike for the unfair sentence handed down and all the pressures in prison. This time I was on strike for 7 days and Manouchehr for 23 days. The fourth phase of the hunger strikeI am not sure but it was the third anniversary of the student uprising when Manouchehr and I were on a strike for nearly 16 days. We were both in solitary at the time.  Every prisoner who goes on a hunger strike will be immediately taken to solitary confinement. The 5^th phase of hunger strike It was June of 82 when Manouchehr and I got medical leave from prison. There were demonstrations all over the country; Manouchehr gave many interviews to Persian speaking Radio and TV stations.  When Manouchehr’s leave was over, he returned to prison. He was taken, blindfolded with 8 officers and took him to cell number 325 of the revolutionary guard. He was in solitary for 45 days, all because of his interviews he got two years prison term, 30 lashes and 30,000 toumans in fines. For nearly one month, no one in my family had any news of Manouchehr. For this reason, my father and my sister Simin came to Tehran from Amol; they wanted to go to the revolutionary court to get some news and to visit me in prison.  It was near the Revolution square that the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence arrested them.  The reason for their arrest was said to have been that they were near Tehran University, on the 16^th of Tir, two days before the anniversary of 18^th of Tir.For one month Tehran would be in turmoil. They accused them of coming to Tehran to create chaos.  These agents are afraid of my whole family.  After two days, our relatives were notified that my father and sister had been arrested and were in the MI cell (209).Since my father had heart problems, and he had complained of heart ache, he was taken to the hospital ward; they took him to Atieh Hospital in Shahrak Gharb (a well known area in the northern section of Tehran)  immediately upon the orders of the Head of the hospital ward. This hospital belonged to Dr. Velayati. My father called our home from there to report that he was in the hospital; that terhe were are a few agents here, and that Simin was in cell No 209.  When I heard the news, my patience ran out; I was furious. I called Khatami and Khameini’s offices and I told them whatever I could; I even chanted harsh slogans against the regime and its officials.   Some facts on the murder of Zahra Kazemi and the perpetuators The head of Evin prison’s security, Mr. Bakhshi and Tehran’s attorney general Said Mortazavi had a direct role in the murder of Zahra Kazemi.  When I was hospitalized for surgery in Taleghani Hospital, the soldiers who were with me,told me quite openly that when Zahra Kazemi was outside Evin taking videoof the prison, Mr. Bakhshi had seen her; he ordered ten soldiers to grab her and bring her inside the prison area. The soldiers said that they had simply done this because orders had come from on high. They said that, when they brought Zahra Kazemi inside, Mr. Bakhshi started to hit her with a bayonet, especially in the head area. But this didn’t suffice. According to the soldiers, Bakhshi wanted to do more harm to her. He took off Zahra Kazemi’s scarf and repeatedly hit her head against the wall, until she lost consciousness. Bakhshi told the soldiers to take her to the hospital prison so she would regain consciousness. When he was hitting her head against the wall, blood was running down. One of our cell mates who had recently been brought to cell block # 350, said, I was in there when Zahra Kazemi woke up and she told one of the agents, a tall man with huge beard, that she would report all your terrible activities to the government of Canada and all the human rights organizations. “What are you going to then,” she said? At this moment they were carrying her on a stretcher to the hospital. The bearded man ordered the soldiers to tie her up. The soldiers were scared and did exactly as they were told. The soldiers told me that they would come to testify against Bakhshi anytime I wanted but that I must protect them, since one cannot mess around with this regime. Anyhow, when Bakhshi called on me to go to his office, I had my blindfolds as usual. I knew his voice since everyday he would come to our cell block. The sound of his voice was quite familiar. There were 2 personnel and two soldiers in his office. As soon as I got to his office, Bakhshi started to insult me with foul language. “You moron, you traitor, how dare you insult our dear officials, I will torture you and will execute you so that you don’t repeat these words anymore.” Then I noticed that he was coming towards me to attack me, I got up and said, “I swear if you hit me once, I will open my blindfold and will hit you back. Why do you insult me this way?  You have said every foul word you could but you have no right to insult me. I have been charged and accused in your so-called court of law and I am supposed to be executed but I still have some rights, even according to the same law that you believe in.” Bakhshi responded by saying, “I am the law. What about the law, what about the Koran? I only believe in the authority of the system. I will make your life miserable.”  I told him, in a harsh tone, “you cannot do the things you did during the years 1360-67, or the torture of 1378. This government does not have the right to repeat those appalling acts. Maybe the regime of (kufr) will last but the regime of injustice will not last.” Bakshsi then turned to the soldiers and said to them, “see what Mohammadi is saying against our regime and its officials? I am writing everything down and you can sign on it.”Bakhsi himself signed it and gave it to the four people in his office to do the same.Only three of them signed. The other person, Mr. Golestani did not sign; Bakhshi cursed him loudly. But he said, you can say whatever you want but Mohammadi has said nothing except to defend him and is telling the truth. I will not sign any documents. Nevertheless, he was obliged to sign, but I am grateful for the courage of this soldier, which I will never forget.  He then ordered them to take me to solitary. As I was leaving I told Bakhshi, “you miserable person, these chairs will not hold positions forever, especially for people like you who have chosen the wrong path. Be careful and be aware of the terrible future awaiting you.” In response he said “this regime will last a hundred years!! And I will keep this chair and this position.”  I told him, I can already see your dark future on the horizon.  Then an agent and a soldier took me to my cell in solitary confinement. While walking there, I told the agent, Mr. Amini, why are you selling your soul for someone like Bakhshi?? He said in response:  if I didn’t listen to Bakhshi I would be fired on the spot. Today in our society there are close to 20 million unemployed, and I would be one of them. Otherwise I have nothing in common with Bakhshi or his likes.  I am truly sorry that they treat you so harshly.  They took me to solitary; after a day there, Mr. Bakhshi came to see me. “If you say you made a mistake, I will send you back to the general ward.”I got very upset, and in a loud voice so that others could hear, including Reza Ameli, I said, “traitors like you should ask for forgiveness from the nation, for all the crimes you have committed.”  When the others heard me, they praised me for my courage. Then I told him, maybe then our people will forgive you. Leave your dirty job so that your hands are not stained with any more blood. Remember this regime of injustice will be not last forever; its time is coming. He said again, this regime will remain for a hundred years and people support this regime.  I told him: “right now our country is in a kind of state of siege and you are armed to the teeth. But as you can see, there is unrest in almost all the cities of Iran. Close to 5000 people have been arrested and brought to Evin. All of Tehran’s prisons are full. God knows how many other places are holding prisoners.  So as you can see, 90% of the people oppose you. Our ideas are widespread among the people. Your traitors should realize this fact sooner than later otherwise it would be too late.”After saying these things, I announced that I would go on a hungers strike again. For 12 days I was on strike; on the eighth day, the presiding judge came to prison and asked to see me in the office of the prison guard.  This guy had a long beard. I don’t recall his name. He had been a judge for a month. He was a good natured man and quite funny. After asking me how I was, he said, “why don’t you eat?”  then I asked him, “what happened to that Kashi dialect of yours?” He said, “God forbid, I am not from Kashan.” So I asked him where he was from. He said that he was from Isfahan. I said, “I am sorry for you, because the Isfahanis are freedom loving people.”  “So you are saying I am a worthless person, and mercenary?” he responded.  “Are you saying I am stupid?”  He then asked me to end my hunger strike. “We will take you to the general ward,” he said. I told him that I would not end my strike until my father and sister were released.  He said, “I will do my best to have them released.” “Whenever they are freed, I will stop,” was my response. It was on the 12^th day that the head of prison, Mr. Doust-Mohammadi came to solitary cell no. 240. They took me to him. He told me that my sister and father had been released. And that my case would not go to trial and that I could call home so he begged me to break my hunger strike.   I told him that I would do so if I were allowed to go to the general ward and if I could call home. The head of prison ordered them to take me to the general ward.  After the legal procedures were over, I called home and found out that my father and sister had indeed been released after posting bail. I then broke my strike.  Manouchehr also came to the same ward after spending 45 days in the solitary no. 325 -the ward of revolutionary guards. It was after the hunger strike that I got sick. The first surgery was done in the presence of an agent at Taleghani hospital but it was not successful; it failed in part since the stress had spread to other parts of my body. After nine months, the second surgery took place. The second one was done in Kasra Hospital; I also had nose surgery since I was bleeding from my nose constantly.  Before the surgery, Dr. Sadeghian said: “your head has been infected; it’s a good thing we found out early, otherwise, the brain would have been infected and then we would not have been able to do anything.”  I was under anesthesia for two and a half hours when they operated on my head and my broken nose. Now I had a disk. The physicians told me: you must rest a bit and if the pain doesn’t go away after doing some exercises, the only way would be to be operated on overseas. I had bleeding from my kidneys as well.  My eyes were blurry while watching television. And I had trouble hearing with the left ear.  I had lost 50 percent of my hearing.  I must say that before coming to prison I had not taken one single pill, but after I came to Towhid and during the interrogations and the inhumane torture, I had now many different ailments.  I pray to a day when there is no torture or execution in our country and that no one would be imprisoned for expressing his or her opinions. My only aspiration is to see an Iran which is based upon a free and democratic system.  Torture The harshest and most cruel torture was inflicted upon my brother, Manouchehr and me and then Mohammad Reza Kasrani.  Manouchehr, me, Kasrani, Mehran Abdolbaghi, Namazi were among those who had been tortured severely.  Mrs. (Dr.) Jilani had also endured a lot of torture. While in Towhid prison, a few times they took me to the execution galley making me think that they were about to execute me. They fired shots but it was only to scare me. It was one of the most terrible mental forms of tortures I endured. Our transfer to Sari and Ghaem Shahr Prisons Because of the declarations that we had sent out from prison and for refusing to cooperate with prison officials, on the third year of our imprisonment, Manouchehr was taken to Ghaem Shahr prison for 45 days, and I was sent to Sari for a month. However, due to pressure from our families, human rights organizations and our political friends, we were returned back to Evin. Kavoosi’s cousin as my new case manager When they brought Manouchehr to Evin from Ghaem Sharh prison, it was in the financial ward room 6 that we were introduced to Judge Kavoosi’s cousin. He told Manouchehr that when the family heard of the sentence, all of them cut their ties with him, even his brother refuses to talk to him. They told Kavoosi that he had abused his powers and that he had committed a terrible crime by issuing the death sentence on two innocent brothers who had done nothing wrong except to defend freedom.They had told him that he had done this in order to stay in power and hold on to his position as a judge. Kavoosi told them: “I haven’t done anything; their sentence has come directly from the High Council of National Security and they gave their order to Rahbarpour and consequently he gave me the order which I had to oblige.”  His brother and other relatives told him:  “you could have said no, I will not be a party to this even if you fire me.” He said, “I made a mistake; an order has been handed down from the country’s Supreme Court. I resigned after this incident and now I have opened my own practice.” This cousin told us nevertheless that his relatives, including his brother, wouldn’t talk to him. When I heard this news I was really happy. I gave me joy to find that our people were still aware and conscious of what goes on and ready to defend the truth. This is Mr. Kavoosi’s telephone number in Tehran:  2227477. My role in 18^th of Tir (July 8, 1999 student uprising) I have no intention of writing about my role in 18^th of Tir, simply because I am still in prison and the ruling regime and its officials are looking for an excuse to further punish me.  Suffice to say that what I have said at my trial is all I have to say at the moment.  Our political activities prior to the July student uprising Before entering the university, I was always interested in politics. When I first came to the university arena I immediately got involved. My first action was a protest against the existing conditions, mostly involving the quality of food, at the dormitory of the school of Health and Human Services. I was not living in that dorm but had objected to the living conditions there. I asked all the students to gather their belongings and stay overnight at the university. On the next day a seminar took place in the main auditorium of the University of Tehran.We were supposed to have a sit-in in front of the office of the University President and the school theatre.  My second activity was to organize a political association. The university rules and regulations were set to forbid the formation of any such organization even an Islamic association. But when I put pressure on the administration and was able to gather signed petitions, the officials accepted our terms and together with some of my friends who were not afraid of the consequences, we were able to get together formally. Before any Islamic Student Association ever formed, ours was created.  They told me: “ Akbar, we have common beliefs, we also have secular ideas.” I introduced these individuals to the University officials as the founders of the organization but upon pressure by the Herasat, our proposal was denied.The rest of the six people were accepted. They had two months to hold elections. I was hoping that even if they were not approved, free elections could be held. But unfortunately, not only was my nomination rejected, members of the University Bassij were elected.  I asked my friends the reason why my nomination was rejected, when one of the guys said, “we did accept four of you, we disapproved of two others, and the reason why you were rejected is because you have declared your open enmity towards the leader (Khamenei) and you are anti-revolution.”  I told my friends, “you guys really disappoint me. Yesterday, you were on our side, and today the Herassat has put so much pressure on you that you are backing down and are calling me a traitor!  The majority voted for me and you two are in the minority.” They told me in reply:  “the university Herasat tells us, that in the case of Mohammadi, the minority vote counts and we will not allow him to participate.  Unfortunately, with the help of my own conservative friends, an organization was formed that was more Pro-Basij than Basij itself.”  These traitors went as far as inviting Deh-Namaki, Ansar Hezbollah’s deptuy to speak at the university gathering. He spoke in defense of the clergy and Ayatollah Kashani when I got fed up and rose to speak against him. First, the Islamic Association objected, but then under pressure by the students, I was able to speak my mind. I spoke about the corruption within the clergy, on years of injustice by the present regime, the pressures put on all of us by the Ansar Hezbollah groups. My words were so provocative that the students would not stop their applause for five minutes.   While behind the microphone, I noticed that a group of about 50 started to come towards me, when the Basij told them to stop as the atmosphere was all in my favor; they told them this would have a backlash.  Thus, they stayed silent while I finished my talk. Until my arrest, the Moslem student organization did not invite anyone from the government.When I was arrested, the Ministry of Intelligence was given the film of my speech against Deh-Namaki.  Afterwards, every year at the elections, only 70 students would participate. They would say: we want someone like Mohammadi to represent us not a few traitors who are conservative and backstabbers. Third round  After his second term, Khatami was supposed to speak at the University of Tehran. After demonstrations were held in the vicinity of Enghelab Square and Laleh Park, a friend and I were pinpointed as the main organizers of the event.   The security forces attacked and arrested ten of us.  First they took us to the main headquarters of the security forces, which was near Ferdowsi Square, and interrogated us for one hour. Then they took me to solitary. When I arrived there, they blindfolded me.  Then the twelve of us were blindfolded and put in a mini-bus. They put me in a single cell.  When they had arrested me, there were 6 people in civilian clothes who used maximum cruelty as they hit my head several times on the ground. I protested this cruel treatment. One of the security guards spoke in my defense and told them to be ashamed of their actions. He saved me.Then they put all of us in the bus. Another ten people got in; a guy in security clothing got in the bus and told me to lie down on the floor but I objected. He forced all of us to lie down. He then started beating us with a baton.  But an officer who was also on board told them, “you have no right to hit these young people; you have absolutely no right.” The guy in the civilian clothing told the officer: shut up you moron, I am from the intelligence division of the security forces and a colonel, my rank is above you. This is the last time you interfere in such matters.  The officer stood silent.  That same evening, Sardar Naghdi of the security forces came to our room, and slapped us in the face accusing us of instigating the demonstration. He told me:  “how much should the system suffer from you traitors? If you guys give TV interviews and say that you apologize for your actions, I will release all of you.”  Eight people went on TV and said they had made a mistake, but four of us stood firm.  At the moment of my arrest, the harsh tortures began. I told them, the hell with you and your dictatorial regime. More beatings would begin. They wanted us to say we were sorry for what we did. We were then taken to the court house. We were fined for about 19 thousand toumans.  We said we had nothing to do with the protest, so on the third day we were released after paying the fines. I was released on the same day that Manouchehr, Tabarzadi, Saffari, Salamati and Emami of the Student United Front were giving speeches at Laleh Park. The first speaker was Safari and the second one was Manouchehr. When he collapsed while speaking, Manouchehr was taken to Arya Hospital by his friends.   After a few hours, they released me. On that same day, many people and students were injured by Ansar Hezbollah. The first phase of demonstrations at the university dorms: Our role as the main organizers  The first meeting we held as a group was with a few of our friends in the building next to the university dormitories under the name of the intellectuals of geo- physics department. We spoke on the issue of how to mobilize the students. We decided to have a sit-in protesting conditions in the dormitories. The next morning many students gathered. Manouchehr started to speak. He was a good speaker and could gather many around him. He was so good at public speaking that most people would be immediately attracted to him and would respond to his requests if he asked them to follow his directives. On that day, students began to walk towards the dormitories and eventually the gathering became political.  They began to destroy the offices of food services (one of the protest issues was the quality of food at the university); thus the slogans took a political overture. The next day, a few students began to gather petitions and Manouchehr was selected to represent them.  We had thousands of signatures. They also stated their grievances and asked that the situationBe changed within two weeks. Manouchehr took the letter and presented a copy to the University officials, one to the head of Tehran U. and one to the office of President Khatami. Three weeks passed and we heard nothing. It was in the month of Ramadan, that both Manouchehr and I were identified as the main instigators of dormitory unrest.  Both of us notified the other students that the next night we would not accept the food but would throw it out.  This action took place and everyone poured their food out. Our sit-in started. Both Manouchehr and I were at the forefront of the protest and began to walk towards the dormitories.  Manouchehr would speak out at every step, arousing the students who followed us until we reached the entrance to the dormitories. We were about 3000 students from the geo-physics department. We, the male students, were outside while women students remained inside the dormitories.  All of a sudden the doors were locked. Students asked Manouchehr to speak. He went on top of a car and began to speak. Students were now agitated. Women students were excited and were applauding him for nearly ten minutes.  Every few seconds, Manouchehr’s speech would be interrupted by students of both sexes. At this time, the women students asked Manouchehr to help them break the locks so that they could join in. But a few people who were surely agents told him that it was late and that it would not be wise for women to come out in the late evening.  They were waiting for Manouchehr to say to them to break the doors and come out so that they would bother the female students and blame it on Manouchehr. But instead, he apologized to the female students and informed them of the presence of intelligence agents and what their intentions were.  “I ask all of you to stay put and just protest in your own dorms while we stay outside,” he said, at which point they accepted.Now we were about 20,000 and I don’t believe anyone had stayed inside the dormitories. Everyone had joined in.When the speeches were over, we began to proceed towards the Avenue. I was at the front of the demonstration. Now Manouchehr spoke in a harsher tone when we heard that several cars with agents were approaching and infiltrating our ranks.  When the speech was over, I saw a group of men walk towards Manouchehr and attack him. They put him in a car when all of a sudden, the students ran towards the car to rescue him. They chanted:  “foreigners have shame, leave our country alone!”  The agents, after facing the mass of students, ran fearfully.  The students Came to the dormitories and began chanting, “We are all with you, we will support you, you courageous Mohammadi.” We then proceeded again towards the street and for 5 hours we halted all traffic at the intersection of the unknown martyr St.  Unfortunately, people did not join our ranks at that time but in July 1999, ordinary citizens did join us.  The anti-revolt commandos arrived and started to attack everyone.  Students were running away but as soon as Manouchehr began to speak, they gained courage and came back to face the security forces.  Now it was the security people who were being attacked by the students and were trying to seek refuge in people’s homes. At this time, Manouchehr asked the students not to bother those who had sought refuge and to leave them alone; He said, “if they have not harmed you when they arrested you, you should have mercy on them.”  The students listened to his advice. At this time, a few of the agent provocateurs began shouting, “why are you being deceived by the likes of Mohammadi?” They also threatened me that they would make life hell for me if I didn’t ask the students to go back to their dorms.  I then tried to start a chain in order to scare the agents. But they would try to break our chain. I then shouted:  “Students, don’t let a few agent provocateurs break your ranks. They are here to make break our solidarity.” The agents got away from me and dispersed among the mass of students.  I shouted: “Dear friends: be aware, they are agents and are trying to infiltrate our ranks and create chaos amongst us.  I tried to find them but there were many people around.  At this point, they realized we were after them so they quickly left. Every now and then, the presence of anti-revolt units would increase, Manouchehr would speak with more intensity and the will of the students would become stronger.At this time, the students started to attack the security guards who were equipped with weapons and batons, at which point they begun to run. The sit-in at the Unknown Martyr Intersection lasted from 6 pm to 11 pm. At eleven pm, Manouchehr and I asked the students to end the protest and return to their dorms. Everyone agreed. When we arrived in front of the girls’ dormitories, we also asked them to end their strike which they did. This was in the month of Ramadan. Demonstration in the month of Ramadan at the dormitory of  Beheshti  University (formerly Melli University) Only one week after the protests at the University of Tehran, the Beheshti University became the scene of demonstrations. The newspapers wrote that the slogans chanted at the U. of Tehran were repeated at the Beheshti University and that those who instigated the events there were responsible for the same protests.The newspapers were not wrong. My friends and I were also at B. U. and since the protest was initially in regards to the food served in our dorms, it had now taken a political turn. The demonstration began from the dormitory then towards the U. grounds, then to Daneshjou Street and then to Velenjak area.  The anti-rebel units arrived late so they could do nothing. There was limited confrontation but at the end students overcame. Both of us brothers had a major role in all these protests and would participate in all the meetings. Clashes in Ahmad Abad- the tomb of the beloved Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh ( May 1999)   Before we began your journey to Ahmad Abad, we had opened an office in the Revolution Square which was now the center of National Union of Graduate Students. For two months we had an office but with enormous pressure from the Ministry of Intelligence on the owner of the building, who was threatened with arrest, we had to leave the premises upon his request.  We had to find another space but all leasing companies were told not to lease or rent a space to us. Before we had actually rented an office, Mr. Tabarzadi had given us a few rooms in his own office, which now was the headquarters of our organizations which consisted of the Society of Iranian Intellectuals and the committee in defense of political prisoners. All expenses were paid by the late Forouhar, Mr. Tabarzadi and finally all other nationalist organizations. Eight months before the events at the dormitories, Manouchehr and Reza had gone to the US and Europe upon the invitation of Iranian students and other political organizations as well as the German Green Party.  They had stayed for 4 months, going on a tour during which they made many speeches.  Every year, we would go to the tomb of Dr. Mossadegh with a large group of students. The last time we had gone there with several buses. Most who attended were from nationalist organizations.When we arrived in Ahmad Abad, we started to sing the old national Anthem Oh, Iran which was received with protest from a Hezbollahi gang. They began to attack the female and male students alike. The security guards remained silent while this was taking place. When they saw that the people and the students attending the event protested to these actions, the Basij groups and Hezbollah backed off. But the security forces joined them and began to attack us, and arrest anyone they could.Like savage dogs, the hezbollahi groups attacked and even grabbed women’s hair and banged their heads against the walls.  Like animals they knocked down cars and broke windows on the buses.  At this time, I saw Kourosh Sehatti who was surrounded by 20 Hezbollahi individuals; he was being badly beaten. On that day, many people were injured or arrested only because of their respect and admiration for a true Iranian patriot who loved his country.  We took many to the hospital. Among the injured were Manouchehr and Reza who were taken to Shariati Hospital.The grandson of Dr. Mossadegh who was a physician there informed Manouchehr and Reza(Gholam Reza Mohajeri-nejad) that Herasat (special security apparatus) had called hospital officials to have them arrested. The security guards had entered the hospital grounds and they must leave immediately. With their terrible physical condition they left from the back door. It is noteworthy that the cost of repairing the buses and all the other damage were all paid by for the National Front as Manouchehr was told.  Some of the students and people who had been arrested were released a few days later. On that day, we were also able to print hundreds of photos of Mr. Abbas Amir Entezam who was the longest political prisoner in Islamic regime’s jail and distribute them among the students. We had asked for his immediate release as well as the freeing of other prisoners. Farshid Rezai and I were very active on that day and the security forces had noticed this. A few of them followed us to have us arrested but we were able to hide and change our clothes and be lost among the public. It was then that we tried to hide from the Ansar Hezbollah in the buses, but soon they broke the windows while the bus was en route. This is a token of what happened to me in the last few years in the horrific prisons of the Islamic Republic; I can’t recall everything. I just hope that one day, the dark shadow that is taken over our country, the dark shadow of dictatorship, injustice and oppression will be replaced by the light of democracy and freedom on the plateau of Iran. I hope we will never see a single political prisoner, the reign of terror, torture, oppression and fear.  Until that day… I say,Long live freedom, End to tyranny, Long live Iran. Akbar Mohammadi