Maryam Nayeb Yazdi

Read Saeed Malekpour’s letter recounting the tortures he has endured in Evin prison: //persian2english.com/?p=8921

EXCERPT |  One of those very days, as a result of being kicked, punched, and lashed with cables on my head and face, my face became very swollen. I lost consciousness several times, but each time they would wake me up by splashing water on my face [and continued with the torture]. That night, they returned me to my cell. At the end of the night, I realized my ear was bleeding. I banged on the door of my cell, but nobody came. The next day, while half of my body was paralyzed, and I was unable to move, they took me to the Evin prison clinic. The doctor, after seeing my condition, emphasized that I should be transferred to a hospital. However, I was returned to my cell instead, and I was left on my own until 9:00pm. Three guards eventually transferred me to Baghiatollah hospital.

On our way to the hospital, the guards told me I was not allowed to give my real name, and ordered me to use the alias Mohammad Saeedi. They threatened me with severe torture if I did not follow their orders.

Before I was able to be examined by the doctor, one of the guards met with the doctor on duty in the emergency room, then I entered a few minutes later. 

The doctor, without performing any examinations, radiography, or tests simply stated that my problem was stress related. He wrote his diagnosis on the medical report and prescribed a few pills. When I asked him to at least wash my ear the doctor said it was not necessary. 

I was returned to the detention centre with the blood clot remaining in my ear. For 20 days, the left side of my body was paralyzed, and I had little control over my left arm and leg muscles. I also had difficulty walking.

SIGN THE PETITION: //www.gopetition.com/petition/40162.html

SEND E-LETTER TO WORLD LEADERS TO HIGHLIGHT CASE OF SAEED MALEKPOUR: //org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6160/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4449

BACKGROUND: Saeed Malekpour is a 35-year-old web designer who has permanent residence status in Canada, the country he moved to from the USA in 2005 to earn his Master’s from the University of Victoria. He holds a Metallurgy degree from Sharif Industrial University in Tehran and has worked for the companies Iran Khodro, Garma Felez, and the Razi Research Center.

Saeed Malekpour was arrested on October 4, 2008 on Vanak Square (in northern Tehran) by plainclothes agents who did not present an arrest warrant or identification. He was severely beaten and tortured throughout the course of his arrest and interrogation sessions. Malekpour was in Iran visiting. In a letter he wrote from prison, he said the arrest resembled an abduction.

In a 15 minute trial, Saeed Malekpour was charged multiple times under bogus pretexts. According to his spouse Fatemeh Eftekhari, the charges against Saeed are not clear since new charges are added each time he is seen by authorities. According to Eftekhari, at one point the judge told Saeed that he had been in contact with 10 to 12 groups inimical to the regime. And when Saeed asked which groups, the judge replied, “You know better.”