Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (44)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (44)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi On the third day, the cell’s gate was open and then a tall strong young man was thrown in. His face was so worried. It seemed that it was the first time that he was experiencing such a place. After few moments he began talking and said that he was a javelin throwing champion and did not know what the reason was for his arrest. Unfortunately his interrogator was someone whose name was “Danesh”. He was a bad tempered wretched man who would harass his prisoners a lot. The next day, they took the champion for interrogation. Danesh used Apollo for torturing him and he did it so savagely. That afternoon when I was resting on the ground of my cell, suddenly I saw two...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (43)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (43)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Honey Moon in Prison It was about two or three days after my marriage that the telephone ranged. I pick up the phone. A man said: “Sir, I am calling from Telecommunication Company. I am checking the lines. Please give me your address then I can give your new phone number.” I found out they were controlling my house since the company had all the addresses. So I prevaricated to answer him. Instantly I called my brother and told him the matter. Haj Mahdi said: “They have arrested Ahmad, son Haj Agha Lahooti (1), and now they in chase of me. Now, just get out and let see what happens.” Without telling anything to my wife, I got out and went toward my brother’s...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (42)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (42)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Apple Smell Job, Marriage In the early days after my freedom, my relatives and friends came to visit me to get the news. I was happy with that because of my worriedness about SAVAK’s monitoring who come to our house. Some days passed this way. I had to find a job. Because of my political background, it was not easy to find a good job. I talked to many people and it was useless. Finally I visited the late Haj Mohammad Sadegh Eslami and told the matter to him. He employed me in Qa’em Glaze Company (1) where he was the directing manager. SAVAK’s monitoring continued. They would follow me everywhere and all the time.After finding a job I thought of getting...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (41)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (41)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Qezel Hessar Prison (1) and Freedom Again Mehdi Rezaee was executed on September 7th 1972. We decided to hold a meeting in memory of him in the big room known as “Gathering Room” (2). In this meeting Ayatollah Anvari stood at the door to welcome others as the host.Group of Marxists reported the news of this meeting to SAVAK. After many interrogations SAVAK arrested 5 people who had the main role for holding this meeting (Ahmad Shah Bodaghlou, Hussein Husseini-Zadeh, Abulqasem Sarhaddi-Zadeh, Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Mousavi Bojnourdi and I) and put them all in solitary confinement for five days and nights. Then they formed a council and then decided to send each of...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (40)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (40)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Back to Qezel Qal’eh After the appeal court they took me to Qezel Qal’eh Prison. There, a Marxist came to me and said: “There is a prisoner in the 1st row who introduces himself as Javad Mansouri and knows you.” I was shocked by hearing it. After some hesitation I told him that I do not know him. I could not believe that Javad was there. It made me deeply thoughtful and worried. I was worried if Hezbollah had been blabbed and tolerating all those tortures and slashes were useless. But there was nothing to be worried about. Despite imprisonment of Javad, Saeed and me, heroic resistance of Javad and lack of information of Saeed Hezbollah had saved Hezbollah...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (39)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (39)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Unsuccessful Jailbreak Death penalty verdicts of 21 members of Ahmadzadeh Marxist group issued. I was thinking of a jailbreak and needed information to complete my plan. So I would gather preliminary information when going to interrogation sessions. I found out the prison had a north-to-south street that on its eastern side there was a building which had some windows opening to the street and some to the yard. The yard had a 3-meters-wall with a grating and on the other side of the wall there was river which was about six meters down the top of the wall. I mean the river was 3 meters lower than the yard. There was also a watchtower about 2 meters higher than the...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (38)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (38)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Interrogation Few days after my meeting with Saeed Mohammadi Fateh, the agents came to me. They closed my eyes and hands and put in a bus. Then we came out of Evin Prison. Inside the bus somebody had sat so calmly just beside me. I asked him: “Who are you?” He said: “A Muslim guy!” I said: “I’m Ahmad Ahmad.” He said: “Ahmad Ahmad! Member of INP? How are you, I’d your name.”I asked: “What’s your name?” He said: “I’m Mohammad Hanifnezhad.”(1) I was shocked a bit. We warmly began speaking. He was going for his case revision and getting ready for appeals court. I told him: “People backbite you and ask why he is not given a death penalty...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (37)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (37)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Transferring to Evin Prison After 8 months of up and downs I had almost lost my temper. I was getting crazy in solitary confinement. To get free of such conditions I decided to go on a hunger strike. The next day I did it. The prison guards noticed my refusal for eating and they reported the matter to SAVAK. It was about 10 at night that they came to my cell and asked my reason. I told them that I was on a hunger strike and I would not eat anything till they clear what they want to do with me. They began threatening me. I told them: “It has been 8 months that you have done to me whatever you wanted to. I have been here without being trialed. I am fed up. I cannot...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (36)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (36)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Rigidity and Resistance It was Ramadan; the month of God, month of purity and mercy. It was for the several times that I was in the regime’s prison during Ramadan. Fasting, and praying in those solitary confinements had another atmosphere. I was happy of reaching to healing Ramadan after all those hard tortures and hardships and I could heal my heart wounds and pains. It cannot the expressed how much I enjoyed those Ramadan dawns and sunsets in that loneliness of my cell. The loneliness which was always something bothering to me, I was enjoying a lot then; because I was worshiping my God in this loneliness frankly and clearly.In this month I found out that Mr....

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (35)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (35)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi The Sounds of Cell No. 21 It was about September or October of 1971 that one night they suddenly opened my cell’s door. I woke up frightened. They threw in a tall strong young man inside and closed the door. He sat down hugging his knees and crying without paying any attention to me.I looked at him for some minutes. Then I came down from the platform and soothed him. I told him: “Stand up and sit on the platform.” He said that he could not. I helped him by taking his arm for sitting on the platform. It was clear that he had been tortured and beaten badly. His arms and legs were trembling. I held his leg and moved it. He shouted of pain. I covered him with the...