'This Place is a Thousand Times Worse than Guantanamo'
Excerpts from a Report on the Torture of Students Arrested At Tehran University
Translator’s note: During the early morning hours of June 15, 2009, The dormitory of Tehran University was attacked by Iranian security forces and plainclothes policemen. Five students were killed and many were arrested. Below is a report which describes the ordeal of the arrested students.
Editor’s Note from Akhbar Rooz: Below is a brief report about the arrest of several students at the dormitory of Tehran University on June 15, 2009, and their transfer to the detention center located in the basement of Iran’s Ministry of Interior. We hope that professors and students who read this text call for the investigation of this horrible and hellish place.
The arrest of students at the dormitory of Tehran University has involved violent, hostile and insulting treatment. The police and plainclothes policemen severely beat students upon arrest and showered them with insults. . . Their treatment at the detention center has been much worse and has included physical and emotional torture. The students who were arbitrarily arrested by plainclothes policemen were mostly sent to the basement of the Ministry of Interior or detention centers at various branches of the police department. Some were subsequently sent to the Evin Prison and have not been released. The report below recounts the arrests of several students who were sent to the torture center of the Ministry of Interior. It is based on accounts by the students themselves.Our group of 46 was transferred to the basement of the Ministry of Interior on a minibus. On the bus, we were blindfolded and placed on seats with tin hats put onto our heads. On the way, the police used their truncheons to continuously pound on the tin hats which created a horrible noise. . .
The basement which was about 100 meters long was covered with black soot which exuded smoke. They forced us to lie on the floor and roll around. We had to roll around without hitting the next row of people. If any contact with the other row occurred, they would hit us with truncheons, punch us, utter sexually vile insults and say : “You want to make a revolution?” There were about 20 guards and plainclothes policemen there. Next, they made us sit on the floor and alternately look at the floor or the ceiling. After ordering us to stare at the floor, they would suddenly hit us in the back and the neck with their truncheons. . .
Those who needed to use the restroom were treated inhumanly. The restroom was not covered and restroom use was limited to 30 seconds. Those who exceeded the limit were punched and thrown out of the restroom . . .
A student who was beaten in the eye complained of losing his vision, but was beaten further and punched in the eye and the face. Another was suffering from a broken leg. . .
We were not even given water. When given water, the liquid was poured down our throats from above. . .Later when they brought us a water hose, we approached the hose in the hope of getting water. But hot water came out, which burned our lips and mouths. Some thirsty students nevertheless drank the hot water. . .
The food they gave us was moldy pasta which was thrown into the palms of our hands. We were told that if even one strand fell on the floor we had to pick it up and eat it. If we didn’t, we were hit on the head. . . .
The sexual tortures were so ugly that we are ashamed to describe them. Such treatment was not limited to the Ministry of Interior. When we were transferred to the office of the Security Police, the sexual torture continued.
Our day at the Ministry of Interior was the worst one of our lives. The experience will never be erased from our minds. One officer at the Ministry of Interior told us: “This place is a thousand times worse than Guantanamo.” . . . .
At the office of the Security Police, we were visited by the president of Tehran University, Dr. Rahbar, who was accompanied by a member of Parliament. Some reporters were there to take pictures of this honorable act on the part of the university president. Each of us was given a clean shirt in order to prevent the public from seeing our bloody clothing. We were thinking the following: “Where was Dr. Rahbar on the night of the attack on our dormitory? Why hadn’t he done anything to prevent the attack? “ Most of us thought that his presence at the office of the security police was a propaganda move. If he were really concerned about the students, he should have opposed the attack on our dormitory . . . .
From www.akhbar-rooz.com
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/news.jsp?essayId!678
June 19, 2009Care to comment on this article? Click: hobgoblinlondon@aol.com