Iranian jailed student activist, Sepideh Gholianspeaking out about her torture:
Ms. Sepideh Gholian is a student activist and a freelance journalist who was arrested on 11th November 2018 along with Esmail Bakhsi and several other workers. SepidehGholian was arrested for participating in the Haft Tapehprotests. She was then released after 31 days following an international pressure on the government in Iran. After her release, Gholiani spoke about the torture she was subjected to. Shortly after the publication of the video, security forces arrested Gholian and her brother on 19th of January 2019 in their house. We do not know why her brother was arrested but it seems this is to put more pressure on Sepideh and her family. She contacted her family in the beginning and told them that she was kept in Ahvaz’s Intelligent Service’s detention centre. The authority allowed her family to visit her briefly a few days after her arrest but then her family did not have any news from her and her whereabouts. Sepideh’sfamily was given permission to have a brief visit on February 7th 2019. Please see her video and translation of what she said
Transcription and translation of the content of SepidehGholian’s video clip:
My name is Sepideh Gholian, a student activist who was arrested in the protest in
Haft Tapeh [Haft Tapeh sugar complex in the city of Shush]on November 11th, 2018. In this video, I want to tell people about the 31 days under arrest as well as what has happened afterward.
On November 11th, I was on the bus towards Haft Tapeh, when I was arrested. Before that, the Haft Tapeh employees were supposed to have a meeting with the authorities to address and resolve the problems. As a freelance reporter, I was supposed to take videos and pictures, for them [Haft Tapeh workers in protest] and other employees in case something happens. For unknown reasons, they [the government agents] came to us and said that the meeting is going to be held in another place, where we take you and 5 other representatives [workers representative], and then we come back here. The workers disagreed of course and insisted that we will only have the meeting here.
After peaceful marching, they [workers] asked me to use the company’s service bus to return home. After a while, government agents and plainclothes agents stopped the bus. They first said that we want the student girl who is on the bus and we do not do anything to the workers. When the workers resisted, two workers, Mr Mohsen Armand and Mr EsmailBakhshi, came with me. We were taken to the Intelligence Headquarter, I think, A man, named Mr. Bahmani, was there as a commander. We were beaten; they pulled my bag from my hand so forcefully that for a few days I thought my shoulder was broken. I was then beaten in the chest. They were trying to make me quiet by intimidation and insulting words. Esmail Bakhshi tried to help me to get out of their hands but they intensified the beating on him with batons heavily and put handcuffs on him and blindfolded him. About 2 or 3 months ago, there had been a fire breakout and Esmail’slungs were affected since then. Therefore I was begging the guards to let him have his inhaler, but they didn’t.
After a while, when the situation became calmer in the Intelligence Headquarter, Mr. Bahmani asked me to speak to him in his office and registered our names and he said that two other workers have to be present too. They called in Mr, Khalifeh and Mr, Seyed Hasan Fazeli. Then he said we are taking you to the security police office, and the meeting will be held there. We agreed. Then a plain-cloth agent came in and started intimidating and swearing at me and tried to beat me, but Mr. Bakhshi and Mr. Armand stopped him so they beat Mr. Bakhshi to the brink of death. They put us in a car and took us to a place which I don’t know if it was a security police or a news office. Then a man named Mr. Sadeghi came and threatened me with death. He said “if you don’t tell us what we want, we will bring your brother here and considering the traditional mind-set of your family, we will have him behead you. We can make him cut off your head or you confess all you have done”. Then he insulted me with offensive dirty words and accused me of doing things in the presence of the Prosecuting Attorney of the city Shoosh. They continued intimidating me and insulting and accusations me.
Then we were taken to the room where judge Noori informed me of my charges, I heard the voice of Mr. Bakhshi being beaten again, he was shouting “I am a worker! You broke my ribs!”
After we were informed of our charges, we were put on a vehicle, all of us with handcuffs, Foot Chains, and blindfolds. Mr Moslem Armand and Mr Mohammad Khalifah and I were put on a car, which I guess it was a van. We couldn’t see the car I just guessed it was a van as the seats were large. EsmailBakhshi and Seyed Hasan Fazeli were put in a seat in front. As soon as the car moved, they started beating us heavily again without us even having said anything. They were beating Mr. Bakhshi severely, with batons and electric shockers; they were beating me in the neck by batons, and insulting me. They were forcing us to curse and insult ourselves to humiliate us. When Mr. Bakhshi was saying he cannot breathe, they ask him “ show your lungs with your hand” , and then they would beat him with batons again and again and they hit him with electric shocker in his testicles and his throat. They would beat me in the neck and in the waist with batons. It was a horrible situation. It is even hard for me to explain how it was. We were forced to curse ourselves; especially Mr. Bakhshi, he barely could breathe and I thought he was dead.
When they took us out of the car, they first took Mr. Armand and Mr. Khalifeh. Then I could see under the blindfolds, the blood that was flowing on the ground and they were dragging Mr. Bakhshi and beating him in the waist with batons. They were telling him that he was faking the pain and that he was just fine. They beat me again another round and then ask me to change my
clothes and took me to my cell.
After that day, their psychological tortures started in addition to the physical tortures and beating. In the interrogation rooms, there was a lot of physical torture and beating. My cell was close to a torture room, I couldn’t rest until mornings, due to the sounds from the ongoing tortures.
Members of ISIS were in the same place we were detained. This was clear from the sound of ongoing interrogations too; like, they were asking them “Tell us! Who made you a Vahabi?”, “who introduced you to ISIS?”. They also told us, ISIS prisoners were held here, and they were arrested in relation to the September 22nd terror attack [ in the city of Ahvaz]. They told us “You are like ISIS; you are even a bigger threat.”
The interrogations started from 10:00 A.M. till late in the night, which I later realized that it was after 23:30. My neck felt like as if it was broken and I couldn’t walk properly. I lost lots of weight and I couldn’t eat. On the first days, I was thought Esmail Bakhshi was dead; the interrogations were done by beating us with [thick] cables. To force us confess that we are ‘abolishers’ [who want to overthrow the Islamic regime], and also we were ‘hijacking the workers’ movement’.
I was just a simple student and they had no proof for that. The fact that we have friends on Facebook or Twitter who live abroad is not a proof of collaboration with specific groups. The protests of the workers of Haft Tapeh has been so widespread that they did not need anybody like us joining them. I just went there as a student to show my support. I was interrogated and insulted and accused. They threatened me that “we will bring your family here and they will beat you up. They are here with knives. You are a psychopath. You attempted suicide once.” They wanted to make me accept that I had committed suicide, while I have not even taken apainkiller. They wanted to convince me that I am psychologically ill and Mr. Bakhshi is addicted to drugs.
The tortures became harder and they took ‘confessions’ from us. At some point, there were intense beatings and severe pressure. Three interrogators were on the top of my head, I told them, I’ll sign anything you write. I really did not know what they were looking for. Beating with cables, slapping behind the neck, throwing the chair which, I was sitting on, etc. At this point, I thought I am watching a film about torture of Saeed Emami’s wife [which has become exemplary for heartless and ruthless tortures by the regime of Iran]. I even told them, that I never thought they were so ruthless and cruel.
I had an interrogator in the city of Dezfool, named Mr. Kalami, on the third day of my arrest he came to me and said, you remember I helped you a lot and helped you not to go to jail, but you did not learn your lesson. He brought in a huge ISIS prisoner and said: “Look! This prison is for such people! We have put you in the same place”. I was so afraid because every time they opened my cell, I was afraid they will put that man in my cell.
When I was detained, they continuously abused me verbally and insulted me for wearing colourful clothes. I told them that I always dress like that. The books they took from my house,were taken as an excuse for them to accuse me of being a communist. But first of all nowhere in the constitution said that being a communist is illegal. Secondly none of the books were illegal.
Another point that I want to make is: Why should I be tortured during my arrest time and be forced to say that I have no religion? They force us to say that we have no religion. This one at least, I did not confess to.
We were interrogated for a long time just because of having lunch with our friends. They politicized everything and related them to ‘attempt to overthrow the government’. They forcefully took confession videos of us, saying “we just want these videos for the judge”. They took inappropriate confession videos of us, and all of the videos were taken under torture.
I don’t agree with none of them, and none of them is correct. I even went to the attorney and told him that I want to get my bail amount back and go to jail because they put psychological pressure on my family.
I don’t know where will I be and how will I be doing when this video reaches you, but I want to say that my only request is to have a public hearing in the presence of free. They [The regime] should show their proofs and facts on what they are claiming that I have done, on how they have accused me of attempting to overthrow the regime, and how those confessions have been taken.
I am ready for a public court!
Thank you all!
** The source of the video clip is BBC Persian website. Translation of the content of the video clip into English is done by the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI). www.cfppi.org