The following is the transcript of Valiollah Feiz-Mahdavi's description
about his arrest, maltreatment and
planned execution date. Please send a
protest letter similar to the model one at the end of this information .
Warmest greetings to my dear compatriots in Iran and other countries!
My name is Valiollah Feiz-Mahdavi. I was born on 25 January 1980. In
autumn 2001 I was arrested by the Intelligence Ministry agents and
charged with undermining national security and attempting to join the
People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran in Iraq. They kept me in
solitary confinement for 546 days, during which time I was
interrogated and subjected to severe physical and psychological
torture. I was kept in a little, dimly lit cell; and when moved for
any purpose I was shackled, cuffed and blindfolded.
These were the hardest days of my life. On a number of occasions they
woke me up in middle of the night, took me outside, and told me ‘say
your last wish’. Then one of them would fire a shot. Thinking I was
hit, I would spend a few minutes in a state of shock before being led
back to my cell.
After this hellish period, they arranged a trial for me. I was
sentenced to death in a summary court presided over by a judge named
Haddad and held at the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court in
Tehran. At my sham trial I rejected all the charges and denounced the
illegitimacy of the whole procedure where I had no legal
representation and no jury was present.
On the same day, as a punishment for my protests, I was transferred to
a prison in Kermanshah (Dizelabad Prison), where I spent the next few
months under harshest conditions. In March 2004 they returned me to
Evin Prison in Tehran. But again, after a few months, because of an
argument with Bakhtiari, the previous head of the National
Organization of Prisons, I was sent to a prison in Karaj (Rajai
Shahr). I remember on my arrival the then head of the prison, Maleki,
told me: ‘none of your protests would leave the walls of this prison’.
Ever since then I have been a target of threats and even assaults by
ordinary prisoners, instigated by prison officials. Calling my days
here ‘living’ would be an outright abuse of this word. Of course, this
is the situation of all political prisoners here, and thus has to be
considered ‘normal’ for them.
A few days before the Iranian Year beginning on 21 March 2006 I was
formally notified by the judiciary deputy of the prison that my death
sentence will be carried out on 16 May 2006. But even before this
official notice, both the head of the prison and the head of my
section, Section 6, had on a number of occasions told me that my
sentence would soon be carried out. Just last week the head of Section
6 summoned me to his office and, in an angry, threatening voice, told
me: ‘why do you publicize your condition and sentence? It is not going
to help you any more than it helped Hodjat Zamani’.
My dear compatriots and friends,
In the course of my struggle I learned that for freedom fighters it is
not all that important to realise the ultimate aim of their efforts
and sacrifice personally. What is paramount for them is steadfastness
in struggle. I truly believe that freedom, democracy and justice are
as vital to human life as the air one breathes. I thus permit myself
to ask you not to abandon our just fight against the oppressive regime
of the mollahs. I also have a few words for the leaders and minions of
the regime: we will never resign ourselves to the ignominy of
surrendering to your repressive dictatorship, even if it will cost us
our lives.
Long live an Iranian nation free from injustice, oppression and
exploitation!
Valiollah Feiz-Mahdavi (Rajai Shahr Prison)
Translated by Didgah website.
----------------------
Model letter
Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
xx May 2006
Dear Mr President
I write to bring to your attention the urgent case of Valiollah
Feiz-Mahdavi, a 26-year-old man facing execution on 16 May 2006. Mr
Feiz-Mahdavi was arrested in 2001 and charged with undermining
national security and attempting to join the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran in Iraq.
Since his arrest Mr Feiz-Mahdavi has been kept in solitary confinement
for 546 days, during which time he was interrogated and subjected to
severe physical and psychological torture. He was kept in a little,
dimly lit cell; and when moved for any purpose he was shackled, cuffed
and blindfolded.
On a number of occasions the prison authorities woke him up in middle
of the night, took him outside, and asked him his 'last wish'. Then
one of them would fire a shot. After a few minutes, still in a state
of shock, he would be led back to his cell.
Since Mr Feiz-Mahdavi had no legal representation at his trial, and
there was no jury present, it cannot be claimed that the court
proceedings complied with the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Furthermore, his four and a half years detention would also contravene
IRI laws and any sentence would become null and void.
I therefore hope that you can bring the authority of your office to
put pressure on the relevant officials and bodies in the judiciary and
prison system to immediately and unconditionally:
1- Revoke Mr Feiz-Mahdavi's death sentence.
2- Release him from prison.
3- Allow international human rights and legal organisations to have
full access to the evidence against Mr Feiz-Mahdavi and to assess
appropriate further action according to the relevant international
standards and IRI laws.
I look forward to hearing about your positive intervention in this
regard in the international media.
Yours sincerely
Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Fax: 98-21-648.06.65
Email:
dr-ahmadinejad@president.irPlease send a copy of your protest letters to:
UNHCHR
Petitions Team
Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9022
Email:
tb-petitions@ohchr.orgAmnesty International
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London
EC2A 3EA
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 20 7833 1510
Email:
info@amnesty.org.ukHuman Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Fax: 1-(212) 736-1300
Email:
hrwnyc@hrw.orgInternational Society for Human Rights
Borsigalle 9
D-60388 Frankfurt/M.
Germany
Fax: +49-(0)69-42 01 08-29
Email:
is@ishr.orgWorld Organisation Against Torture
OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21
8, rue du Vieux-Billard
CH-1211 Geneva 8
Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
Email:
omct@omct.org
