The flames of August still burns our hearts; A letter from Maryam Akbari Monfared from Semnan prison on the anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988
7-August-2022
Category: Freedom of Expression، Prisoners
August 7, 2022
News group: freedom of expression – women – prisoners –
Breathing in Confinement: In a letter on the anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in 1988, Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner in Semnan prison, expressed her satisfaction with the conviction of Hamid Nouri, one of the perpetrators of the massacre of political prisoners, in the Swedish court. She wrote: “We are determined to bring justice to Iran, and the conviction of Hamid Nouri is a small but important step toward this goal.”
She also emphasized that the establishment of justice prevents the crimes to be repeated in future.
In response to Mousavi Tabrizi, the Attorney General of Iran in the 80s, who had said “the families of executed prisoners could file a complaint, but they didn’t”, Maryam Akbari Monfared wrote: “Perhaps you have forgotten, so let me remind you that the families denied the right to hold a mourning ceremony. Even in those small family mourning ceremonies, you arrested them along with all their guests and sent them to prison; You did not return the bodies of their loved ones; You did not say where they were buried, not even an address! And now, after 3 decades, you are speaking about us failing to complain against the massacre you committed?
I have filed a complaint after three decades, what have you done for me? Except threating me, deporting me, and illegally keeping me in prison?”
Below is the full text of Ms. Monfared’s letter, received by “Breathing in Confinement”:
“The flames of August still burns our hearts…
I heard in the news that Hamid Nouri’s children have complained that their father had been tortured!!!
What a strange time…
The one who three decades ago around these days lined up our loved ones and took them to the execution room; The one who is one of those who might have seen the last moments of my brother Abdi and of course had been outrageous at his bravery and resistance, and out of grudge might have himself kicked the stool from under Abdi’s feet; The one who was happy and proud of the execution of thousands of people like Abdi; The one who made the prison a hell for political prisoners in order to “break them,”… is now in the best prisons and has been justly heard and tried, claims to have been “tortured”! If this is torture, then what was calamities endured by the families of our martyrs, our mothers and my mother Georgi?! The brutalities that “no animal does to another!”
In the corner of my cell and in its feverish heat, I surrender myself to the dreams of the years passed, when I was the same age as my children… the way to Evin and Gohardasht Prisons with my mother to visit…; Abdi’s last visit and after months of unknowingness, a bag containing bloody clothes of my tortured brother…; The times when my mother would go to a room full of framed photos, closed the door to be alone with her children, who remained young forever in those frames, closed the door so that we wouldn’t see her tears…; And the day when at the age of 40, these grieves took her from us forever. Are there any words to describe those tortures?
We have lived through the horrible decade of 80, with its torturing “God”, and that is why we think about and seek for justice so that the future generations of Iran do not have such a horrible experiences…
It is true that “justice is higher than love”, even higher than My love as a mother for my children and because I love my children, I have raised my voice for “justice”.
The non-execution of justice in the case of the Shah and the crimes of SAVAK opened the way for this government to repeat it. But we are determined to bring justice to Iran forever, and the conviction of Hamid Nouri is a small but important step toward this goal… We are happy that the deadlock that denied us for three decades is breaking… From the government to others who minimized the number of our martyrs wanted to deny us and our pain! But all these years we bore our pains on our shoulders only for this moment, the promising moments of justice…
I have heard that Mousavi Tabrizi said that “the families could have filed a complaint, but they didn’t”!
“Perhaps you have forgotten, so let me remind you that the families denied the right to hold a mourning ceremony. Even in those small family mourning ceremonies, you arrested them along with all their guests and sent them to prison; You did not return the bodies of their loved ones; You did not say where they were buried, not even an address! And now, after 3 decades, you are speaking about us failing to complain against the massacre you committed?
I have filed a complaint after three decades, what have you done for me? Except threating me, deporting me, and illegally keeping me in prison?”
There is no escape from justice… I have made a promise that I will not stop until the perpetrators of the killing of our loved ones are brought to justice one by one… Our wounds are fresh, not 3 decades, not even 3 days have passed! As if it happened to us today. The flames of August still burns our hearts and all these years we have been “biting our teeth” but the victory of justice will be a relief to all our pains…
The massacre is continuing, the executions and killing of innocent people are the continuation of that massacre, the killings in 2009, 2017 and 2019 were all the continuation of the massacre of 88… Seeking justice for the “massacre of 88″ is the same as fighting for freedom…
The blood shed from those doves in the historical continuation of the blood of Imam Hussain and his companions in Ashura. This blood is fresh forever and their red flag will always be waved in history.
We seek justice, we stand for justice so that no more families will suffer again…
These days, I think of my loved ones Roghaieh and Abdi (Abdelreza) as well as Alireza and Gholamreza, who are alive in me and I always remember them with their smile as if they are my guardians in this black hole.
The dawn of justice will blow through the dark and stormy clouds and when that day comes we will feel the love with all our hearts.
Victory belongs to us
Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner in Semnan prison who is serving her 13th year in prison, is the first person from inside Iran to file a complaint with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances against the perpetrators of killing political prisoners in the summer of 1988. She was arrested in December 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Salvati. In her twelfth year of imprisonment, Maryam Akbar Monfared was deported from Evin prison to Semnan prison on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. At mid July 2022, while in prison, a new case was opened by the Ministry of Information against Mrs. Akbari Monfared on the charge of “propaganda against the regime”.