Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (46)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi


Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (46)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi


Sonorous Sickness


The last days that I was in ACC I had become slim and weak because of fasting since I could not have war food. I would eat my lunch for evening and my dinner at dawn. Additionally, because the blood and pus of that young student, the cell was quite unsanitary and dirty and the possibility of rotting the food was several times more.
After eating my dawn food I felt a very bad stomachache. I had to go to toilet. But I had to wait because of the prison’s regulations. I waited for some minutes, but I could tolerate it. I began knocking on the door. The guard said: “Don’t knock uselessly; we would open it at its time, it’s not yet…”
half an hour passed and I was squirming and holding my stomach. I could not tolerate. It was a painful and miserable situation. I began kicking the door unintentionally and shouting from the bottom of my heart: “I’ve diarrhea.” The guard said: “…shut up! Or I come and make you shut up.” I said: “Do whatever you want. I cannot tolerate. I’m sick. I’ve diarrhea…”
I was still kicking the door and shout from the bottom of my heart. These shout would decrease my pain. It was useless. I kicked the door. I’d given up and cried with a weakened voice: “Seventeen, Seventeen….” Suddenly I saw that all the other cells began kicking the doors and saying coordinately: “Seventeen, Seventeen, Seventeen, Seventeen….” It was a strange situation. It seemed all the other prisoners were feeling sympathy with me. They were protesting in a prison that nobody would dare to protest; the shout of protest was reverberating.
The sound of knockings and the shouts of “Seventeen, seventeen…” were like a riot. The guard got frightened and came fast and opened the door. I ran. I don’t know how and with what speed. I cannot say it. The pain was killing me. My face was wet of sweating. When I opened the door of the toilet, something that shouldn’t happen, happened. All my clothes and the floor got dirty. My cellmate brought a pair of trousers and a shirt for me to change my clothes.
Almost every half an hour I had to go to toilet and after that shouts of other prisoners whenever I called the guard he would come and open the door fast. It was interesting that I continued fasting despite all that sickness that I had.


Meeting with Hojjat-ul-Eslam Lahooti

An hour after the evening-call for prayers the guard would open the door for going to toilet. A day after that Sonorous sickness, when I came out of the toilet, the guard suddenly took my hand and made me follow him in the corridor. When we reached to the end of the corridor, he changed to one side and stood in front of a cell. I was surprised by what I saw there. Mr. Lahooti had opened his feet and sat there. We exchanged greetings. I wanted to enter the cell but the guard impeded. I understood that I had to stand right there. Mr Lahooti asked: “Ahmad! Are you arrested too?” I said: “Yes Sir!” He said: “I could hear you voice.” He asked: “Is Vahid here too?” I said: “Yes. I’ve seen him once.” He said: “You do not have relation with me. There is no connection between your job and mine!” I said: “Dear Sir! I’ve only visited you once in Qezel Qa’eh Prison. Then after I’ve had no contact with you!” He continued: “I’ve told them the same thing to them. I said I had seen Ahmad only once in the prison…I just wanted to help him in finding a good wife but he found a better person and went to follow his own life.” I said: “Dear Sir! They’ve arrested me because of Haj Mahdi. But I know nothing about him and I’m here with no reason.” He said: “I’m also here without any reason. Suppose Vahid has done something. What’s the relation is here with me. He’s been a kid. I’ve heard he has attacked a policeman along with some of his classmates with a knife… then they have narrated the matter at school and this way the agents became aware of the matter and then they become arrested. They hit Vahid so much to confess Mahdi Ahmad and his father had been leading him. Ahmad! I know you are innocent and just married. However, be sure that I am also here baselessly…”
We coordinated our positions and the things to say. Then the Sergeant took me back to my cell. That night I did not sleep till morning and thinking about different matters such the attack by Vahid to the policeman, hiding of Haj Mahdi and how Mr. Lahooti could effect on me by his influential words. I was thinking and at the same time scared if they had hoaxed Mr. Lahooti. However, later I trusted more in the influence and power of his words.

 Toward Freedom

It was about twenty days that I was in ACC. Once the cell door opened and a slim man with middle height and a normal face entered. Manouchehri and two others were along with him who would respect him so much calling him General. First he asked from my other two cellmates about the reason of their arrest and length of it. Then he asked me: “Who are you?” I said: “Ahmad Ahmad” He asked: “What’s your crime?” I explained that I had done nothing wrong and they have had kept me as a hostage to make my brother introduce himself. I added that I was innocent and his deeds have no relation with me. I said: “If you cannot arrest him, what’s wrong with me?” I explained that they had arrested me just right after my marriage and took me there and it was unjust. I reasoned if I wanted to fight the regime why should I had married?
It seemed that my words had affected him and the next day they issued the orders that I was not anyone to pursue. However, Manouchehri vilely had not let them to inform me. Later I understood that middle height man was General Zandipour(1), the thinking mind of SAVAK and ACC who had ordered for not pursuing me after hearing my words.
SAVAK and ACC interrogators and torturers were mostly abnormally violent people with psychic traumas. Their corruption and depravity was clear on their faces and behavior. One of them was called Rasouli (2). He was even dirtier and eviler than Manouchehri. He was an asperser, bigmouth, rude alcoholic man. He would compete with Manouchehri in making prisoners confess. These two (Manouchehri and Rasouli) were unique in violation and brutality.
Rasouli would do strange deed when he was drunk. One night the cell door opened and the sharp smell of alcohol filled the cell. Rasouli entered, drunk and subliminal. He slapped on our faces all three (the clergy, the student and me) and insulted us by some bad words. Then he said: “…they’ve kept baby beef here!” and went out. We could hear the sound of slaps and insult from other cell too. After slapping all the prisoners, he returned and gave one or two Winston cigarettes to each prisoner. It was so interesting; if you wouldn’t accept the cigarette, you would be slapped again.
Few days later, Rasouli came again to our cell and asked me: “What’s your name?” I said: “Ahmad Ahmad”. He slapped so hard on my face and said: “You lie!” I said: “No. I am Ahmad Ahmad.” He said: “You lie. It’s three days that we have orders not to pursue Ahmad…” He told me this sentence while he was drunk. The interrogator in charge of my file was Manouchehri. Rasouli took my hand and made me follow him. On the way, he said: “This fu… Manouchehri does such things a lot; when he becomes suspicious to someone, he would let him be free. He is suspicious to you and did not let you go…” We entered a room. He sat behind a table and dialed a number. It seemed that he was calling Manouchehri. But he was not there. He called some other places and finally got him. From the voice and tone from the other side, it was clear that he was also drunk. Rasouli asked: “Why didn’t you free Ahmad Ahmad?” Manouchehri replied: “It’s none of your business…” Rasouli said: “I’ll show you if it is my business or not fu… man! You’re enjoying your time there and we are at stupid work here and then you say it’s none of my business…” Then Rasouli put down the phone. They would speak with each other with this dirty language.



1- General Reza Zandipour had no background of violation against any prisoner before his presidency on ACC in 1973. He was a member of Special Office of Intelligence under the orders of Fardoust and then he was moved to ACC. Since Farsoust believed SAVAK pressures would increase the number of dissidents against the Shah’s regime, he tried to decrease these pressures by imposing Gen. Zandipour. Zandipour would act as a brake in ACC and when he would visit the interrogation rooms and the ACC prison, the agents would hide the torturing tools as much as possible. His assassination worsened the conditions at ACC and the torturers and interrogators found easier condition for their job. (From the diaries by Mr. Khosrow Tehrani)
2- Rasouli escaped from the country during Islamic Revolution days. He was in Israel and Greece for some time and finally went to USA.



 
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