My heart continues to go out to those in Iran who have been killed or who are currently jailed under God knows what conditions as the Islamic dictatorship uses brutality to hold onto control. I truly hope that if nothing else Americans come to learn that the Iranian people are not synonymous with the Islamic dictatorship that currently rules the country. Fortunately, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is getting the truth out so that both the outside world and many within Iran will know the true story of what has been done allegedly in the name of Allah and Islam. One example is the sad story of Sohrab Aarabi, age 19 (pictured at left), who was likely murdered by the henchmen of the governing regime. Here are some highlights from a press release of the Tehran Bureau:*
(12 July 2009) Iranian authorities have informed the family of Sohrab Aarabi, 19, that he died of gunshot wounds to his heart, 26 days after he disappeared during a demonstration on 15 June, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.
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Aarabi’s mother, Parvin Fahimi, a member of the Mothers for Peace organization, made numerous attempts to obtain information about his situation, taking his photograph to prisons, courts and other addresses. Finally, on 11 July, after the protests commemorating the “18 Tir” student demonstrations in 1999, the family was summoned by the Revolutionary Court and referred to the Investigatory Bureau (Agahi), and asked to identify Sohrab from among several photographs of corpses. According to family members interviewed by the Campaign, his body had arrived at the coroner’s office on 19 June, five days after his disappearance. Sohrab Aarabi was due to begin his university studies this year.
Aarabi’s mother, Parvin Fahimi, a member of the Mothers for Peace organization, made numerous attempts to obtain information about his situation, taking his photograph to prisons, courts and other addresses. Finally, on 11 July, after the protests commemorating the “18 Tir” student demonstrations in 1999, the family was summoned by the Revolutionary Court and referred to the Investigatory Bureau (Agahi), and asked to identify Sohrab from among several photographs of corpses. According to family members interviewed by the Campaign, his body had arrived at the coroner’s office on 19 June, five days after his disappearance. Sohrab Aarabi was due to begin his university studies this year.
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The lack of transparency and calculated delay in releasing the information about Aarabi’s unexplained death only raises anxieties about scores of others who are among the disappeared as well as those who have been held in incommunicado detention, with no contact to family members or lawyers, many for almost a month. Approximately 190 people were arrested following the most recent demonstrations on 9 July.
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“Many families fear they will also be told their loved ones were killed in the demonstrations, and will be left to wonder if it is the truth, “ Ghaemi said. “Indeed, the families of the disappeared are suffering from a form of torture because of the absence of credible information.”
“Many families fear they will also be told their loved ones were killed in the demonstrations, and will be left to wonder if it is the truth, “ Ghaemi said. “Indeed, the families of the disappeared are suffering from a form of torture because of the absence of credible information.”
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For the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign’s website at www.iranhumanrights.org
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I hate to say it, but I continue to believe religion - at least institutional religion - causes much more evil than good.
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