Ahmad Batebi
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| Ahmad Batebi | |
 Ahmad Batebi
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| Born | 1977 Shiraz, Iran |
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Ahmad Batebi - احمد باطبی (born 1977 in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian student who gained notoriety for his appearance on the cover of The Economist magazine holding up a bloodied shirt belonging to a fellow student who had been beaten by the Basij paramilitaries. The photo, which has been called "an icon for Iran's student reform movement,"[1] was taken during the Iranian Student Protests in July 1999 in Tehran. Following its publishing, Batebi was arrested, tried in closed-door proceedings, found guilty of "creating unrest," and sentenced to death. This was reduced to 10 years after domestic and international outcry.[2] Less well-known are persistent reports of torture and ill-treatment of Batebi in prison, and his resulting poor physical and mental health.[3]
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[edit] The protest
The shirt was reportedly that of a friend, "who had just been beaten by Iranian security forces" during a student rally, [4] and according to another report beaten a few days before.[5] A Reuters photographer took his picture. Human Rights activist Shirin Ebadi, reports that the shirt belonged to Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad,[6] a student who was shot and killed reportedly by a plainclothes police or vigilante.[7]
[edit] Trial and prison life
Batebi was initially arrested in connection with the 18 Tir, - also known as the July 1999 - student demonstration. He and many others protesters "were brutally tortured. In prison Batebi wrote of beatings by guards and of having his head pushed
into a drain full of excrement. They held me under for so long, I was unable to hold my breath any longer, and excrement was inhaled thorugh my nose and seeped into my mouth. During the investigations, they threatened several times to execute me and to torture and rape my family members as well as imprison them for long terms.[8]
He was one of four people who received a death sentence in a closed-door trial(s) by a Revolutionary Court on charges relating to "creating street unrest" and "agitating people to create unrest,"[9] and "endangering national security" following the demonstrations.[10] Batebi, in an open letter addressed to the judiciary, wrote that he had been beaten in his "testicles, legs, and abdominal area. When I protested, they answered that this is the land of the Velayat and that I should be blinded and not live here."[11]
Following an outcry from Iranians and international human rights groups,[12] his death sentence was commuted to a 15 year prison term by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Upon appeal in early 2000, the sentence was further reduced to 10 years.
Around March of 2005, Batebi was temporarily released from Evin Prison in order to get married. He failed to report back to prison. On June 23, 2005 a newspaper interview reported him "currently on the run, avoiding the authorities in Iran". Batebi was re-arrested on 27 July 2006 and re-imprisoned. He is continuing to serve his 10-year sentence. However, his family was not told where he was detained till August 12, 2006 when he was permitted to telephone his wife.
He is currently held Section 209 of Evin prison which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence.[10]
During a hunger strike in August 2006 "his doctor wrote an open letter to the prison authorities" stating that Batebi "required specialist care", and that "there was a risk he could die if he was not released." Also adding to the fears for his life was the fate of another July 1999 protestor, Akbar Mohammadi, who died in custody under suspicious circumstances in July 2006.[10]
As of 20 September 2006, his relatives have been permitted to visit him in prison three times.[3] During their first two visits, Batebi's family was accompanied by four prison guards, although their third visit, on 18 September, was reportedly less heavily supervised. Batebi is not permitted to see his lawyer.
Amnesty International reports Ahmad Batebi's physical and mental health is poor and deteriorating further.
He suffers from a number of medical problems as a result of being tortured and ill-treated during his previous period of detention, including stomach and kidney problems. He has lost some of his teeth, and has permanent hearing problems and poor vision." Despite the seriousness of his medical condition, prison authorities are allegedly not permitting Batebi to receive any medical treatment beyond a few pain killers. According to a press report, Dr Hesam Firouzi, Batebi's doctor, wrote to the authorities on 6 August stating that his patient was at risk of paralysis or heart attack, and needed to receive specialist treatment outside prison[3]
Psychological abuse is reported to include denying Batebi "the opportunity to see daylight", forcing him "to wear a blindfold during exercise sessions in the prison yard."[citation needed]
In February 2007, Batebi was reported to have suffered two brain strokes over the course of a few days, having several seizures on 16 February spending "three hours in a coma" and suffering another two days later after being released from hospital. He was returned to the prison following his second stroke over the reported objections of hospital doctors who are said to have told prison officials that he requires follow up care in a hospital.[13][10] Following the strokes, Ahmad Batebi reportedly told his father in a telephone call on 22 February that the prison authorities do not care about him and that if he dies, his father should "hold a celebration of my life, rather than a funeral". [10]
Somaye Bayanat, Batebi’s wife, was detained at her house outside Tehran on 21 February 2007. "Her whereabouts are not known to Amnesty International. Amnesty International fears that she may be at risk of intimidation, harassment or ill-treatment because of her connection to Ahmad Batebi."[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References and notes
- ^ Ahmed Batebi, Student Activist
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.208
- ^ a b c Amnesty International IRAN Ahmad Batebi (m) aged 28, former student activist
- ^ Ahmed Batebi, Student Activist
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.207
- ^ Ebadi, Shirin, Iran Awakening, by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, Random House New York, 2006, p.156-7
- ^ Payvand's Iran News ... 1/25/01 Majlis commission receives complaints on various cases
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.207
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.208
- ^ a b c d e f 2/23/07, Iran: Former student activist Ahmad Batebi denied medical treatment, wife detained
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.207
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p.208
- ^ Jailed Student Leader Batebi Suffers Brain Stroke
[edit] External links
- Batebi suffers two strokes (m)
- Amnesty International Urgent Action to get Batebi Medical Treatment, Wife Detained
- Amnesty International: Iran: Further information on fear for safety/ medical concern/ incommunicado detention: Ahmad Batebi (m)
- Amnesty International: "Five Years of injustice and ill treatment: Akbar Mohammadi - case sheet", July 7, 2004. Accessed May 4, 2007.
- Ahmad Batebi Profile The Alliance for Essential Liberties in the Middle East's profile of Ahmad Batebi Dead link
