Minoo Vosough can still hear the guards’ boots marching down the cold hallways of Iran’s Gohardasht prison. The screams of other inmates burn her ears.
She can feel the thud of a fist coming down on her head. And the world going black as she was blindfolded and shoved in a courtroom to hear her fate.
She was arrested in Tehran more than 25 years ago – beaten, interrogated and thrown into solitary confinement. Once a week, she was taken out for a shower. She could tell if it was bright or overcast only by the small window high up in her cell. She cherished the chirping of birds outside.
All she had was a blanket, a spoon and a broken fork.
The Iranian regime accused Vosough of espionage, though she was never charged or afforded legal representation. Her crime in the Islamic republic, she says, was – and still is – her faith.
She is a Baha’i.
She has not spoken publicly about her terrifying experience in an Iranian jail. Until now.
This month, the spotlight again fell on Iran’s 300,000-strong Baha’i community as seven national leaders were sentenced to 20 years each in prison for espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.
