Recounting the tragic tale of Kahrizak
A while ago, Mothers of Park Laleh visited Mohammad Kamrani’s family to comfort them. This is the tale of Mohammad’s plight recounted by the Mothers of Park Laleh as they heard it from his father during their visit:
Mothers of Park Laleh – Father, Mother and children came to greet us. Nostalgia filled the air as we entered. The restlessness from the pain endured for two years hung in the surroundings. The patient mother with eyes full of sorrow gazed in silent pain. The father, though, with a knot in his throat, bursting into tears now and then to allow himself some relief, talked about what his son had endured in those few days.
Someone evil-hearted from the lot of the wicked and wretched souls whose eagerness to please their superiors surpasses expectations arrested Mohammad on the afternoon of July 9, 2009, a day forever to remain in infamy. At that very first moment of arrest, this man slapped Mohammad so hard that his glasses were knocked off his face and thrown a few meters away.
Meanwhile the eighteen year old Mohammad was totally in the dark about what was conspiring since he had merely gone to see his teacher to discuss a problem before taking the upcoming college entrance exam. In spite of the explanations provided by Mohammad, the hired-gun paid no attention, and before long, Mohammad together with other detainees was transferred to a horrific place of death and torture known as Kahrizak Prison. This is the same detention center where the damned judge and the murderous commander with all others tasked to carry out the brutal repression after 2009 presidential elections were pompously roaming so that for services rendered, they would rise up the ranks to reach higher on the totem pole. This is the same killing fields still hunting those who escaped it while making other survivals wish to have died there themselves.
During the days when Mohammad and others were enduring the lethal heat, shameless physical and psychological tortures and unbearable hunger and thirst in Kahrizak Prison, Mohammad’s strong and athletic body was damaged to the degree that in spite of his youth and good health, it could bear no more.
Soon, because of repeated inquires and appeals made by Mohammad’s family and friends, Iranian officials decided to release him. The news of his release was then delivered to the family: He would be set free on the afternoon of July 11, 2009. Subsequently, Mohammad’s family gathered in front of Evin Prison, waiting there behind the gate impatiently. However, before long, relatives contacted Mr. Kamrani to tell him that Mohammad was in Kahrizak Prison, and the father had to go there alone. While Mr. Kamrani was heading towards Kahrizak, he received another phone call beckoning him to Loghman Hospital. At that precise moment, the father’s heart skipped a beat. Something had gone awfully wrong.
Arriving at the hospital, Mr. Kamrani found his son unconscious and chained to a bed. Embracing Mohammad, the father felt as if he was set ablaze by his son’s burning fever. Seeing their son under such circumstances, the family protested and demanded Mohammad to be transferred to another hospital. During the transfer, the executioners shamelessly wanted Mohammad’s father to confirm that his son was delivered to the family safe and sound, but the family members stood firm and refused to comply with the request.
At the next hospital, physicians and nurses were deeply dismayed at the sight of Mohammad’s tormented body and plight. Although they knew that only a miracle could save Mohammad’s life, hospital staff promised to do all they could and true to their word, they tried wholeheartedly. Alas, their efforts were futile given that the extent of Mohammad’s injuries, the thirst he had endured and the infections had caused both of his kidneys to fail.
In the early morning of July 14, 2009, the news of Mohammad’s death reached his family. For what crime did they wither a blossom not yet fully flourished?
Since then, it has been two years during which the Kamranis have gone from one judiciary to another in search of answers. Mohammad’s father further described, “When I heard that Mohammad was arrested, I searched everywhere. No one gave me any answers, and sometimes they were even rude. However, after Mohammad’s death and my written grievance, everyone was sympathetic just because they had received an order from their superiors to investigate and identify those responsible for this crime.”
Mr. Kamrani played an important role in revealing the crimes that occurred in Kahrizak Prison. Because he and the families of other victims didn’t give up, the tale of Kahrizak has not been forgotten, and the need for further investigations has remained at the forefront.
Mohammad’s father has announced, “Mr. Ruhoalamini and I are determined to get to the bottom of this case. I have given up everything and live only for the day when my son’s killer will be punished.”
Mothers of Park Laleh can’t help but wonder how the damned, conscienceless judge can claim himself to be cleared of all charges. Maybe he is right since the case has been investigated only superficially. What is obviously evident is the fact that some of the individuals responsible for these crimes are merely shuffled around from one position to another while others are promoted and given such a sensitive and important post as to fight against currency smuggling.
Through it all, Mohammad’s family continues to worry about everyone who was locked up behind bars in Kahrizak Prison during those horrific, painful days. The family understands the victims’ sense of loneliness and sympathizes with their unbearable torment and sorrow. Isn’t it our duty as human beings to understand them, honor them and ease their burden by sharing their pain?
Sympathizing with the Kamranis and other victims of Kahrizak Prison, Mothers of Park Laleh announce their commitment not to allow the blood of those lost and the right of those tortured to be trampled. Mothers of Park Laleh once again insist on their demands to prosecute the perpetrators of hangings, mass executions, religious and ethnic cleansings, arrests, tortures, rapes, assassinations, house raids, university dormitory attacks and all other crimes that have occurred since the 80’s till today. Additionally, Mothers of Park Laleh demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
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