Ahmad Batebi

Infobox Person
name=Ahmad Batebi


caption=Batebi from the cover of "The Economist".
birth_date=May 1977
birth_place= IRN
known_for=Imprisonment after July 1999 Iranian Student Protests
death_date=
death_place=
occupation=

Ahmad Batebi (Persian: احمد باطبی) (born 1977 in Shiraz) human rights activist. During his studies at the University of Tehran he gained international fame for his appearance on the July 17, 1999 cover of "The Economist" magazine, holding up a shirt splattered with the blood of a fellow protester. [http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=11707464 Silent no more] from the July, 10, 2008 edition of "The Economist"]

The photo, which has been called "an icon for Iran's student reform movement" [http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=460099085 Ahmed Batebi, Student Activist] from zoominfo.com] , 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 street unrest", and sentenced to death.

This was reduced to 15 years after domestic and international outcry.Molavi, Afshin, "The Soul of Iran", Norton, 2005, p.208] Less well-known are persistent reports of torture and ill-treatment of Batebi in prison, and his resulting poor physical and mental health. [http://www.amnesty.org/en/alfresco_asset/d06d1650-a493-11dc-bac9-0158df32ab50/mde131032006en.html IRAN Ahmad Batebi (m) aged 28, former student activist] from Amnesty International] While temporarily released from prison to receive medical attention, Batebi was assisted by his lawyer, Lily Mazahery, to flee Iran for United States where he was granted immigrant status.http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2008-06-30-voa83.cfm from Voice of America]

The protest

The shirt was reportedly that of a friend, "who had just been beaten by Iranian security forces" during a student rally, and according to another report beaten a few days before.Molavi, Afshin, "The Soul of Iran", Norton, 2005, p.207] A Reuters photographer took his picture. Human Rights activist Shirin Ebadi reports that the shirt belonged to Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad, [Ebadi, Shirin, "Iran Awakening", by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, Random House New York, 2006, p.156-7] a student who was shot and killed reportedly by a plainclothes police or vigilante. [ [http://www.payvand.com/news/01/jan/1151.html 1/25/01 Majlis commission receives complaints on various cases] from Payvand's Iran News]

Trial and prison life

Batebi was initially arrested in connection with the Iran student protests of July 1999. He and many others protesters were brutally tortured. In prison Batebi wrote of beatings by guards::I resisted and punched one of them in the face. At this point, they took me and ducked my head into a closed drain full of excrement. They held me under for so long, I was unable to hold my breath any longer, and excrement was inhaled through my nose and seeped into my mouth.:During the interrogations, they threatened several times to execute me and to torture and rape my family members as well as imprison them for long terms.

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," and "endangering national security" following the demonstrations. [http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1319.html 2/23/07, Iran: Former student activist Ahmad Batebi denied medical treatment, wife detained ] from Payvand's Iran News] 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 and that I should be blinded and not live here."

Following an outcry from Iranians and international human rights groups, 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.Fact|date=July 2008

Around March 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 continued 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 was held in Section 209 of Evin prison which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence.

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.

As of 20 September 2006, his relatives have been permitted to visit him in prison three times. 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 was 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 did allegedly not permit 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

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."fact|date=January 2008

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. [ [http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/02/002485.php Jailed Student Leader Batebi Suffers Brain Stroke] from roozonline.com] 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".

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."

Escape

While being temporarily released from Evin Prison to receive medical attention, Batebi fled the country into Iraq, then Austria. He was assisted by the KDPI and the Kurdish underground network who moved him to the northwestern border with Iraq and then to Erbil [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/middleeast/13dissident.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&hp&oref=slogin Dissident’s Tale of Epic Escape From Iran Grip] , By Scott Shane and Michael R. Gordon, "The New York Times", July 13, 2008.] . With the assistance of human rights attorney Lily Mazahery, he was granted asylum in the United States on June 24th.

"I wish each and every Iranian could travel abroad, come to the U.S. or go to Europe, for just one week, and feel, smell, and breathe freedom, human dignity, and realize the value of their lives."

During a July 7, 2008 interview with "The Economist", Batebi said he used a cellphone camera to record almost every step of his escape, and plans to go public with the story of how he got away.

Afthermaths

Ahmad Batebi after his escape, in the United States in an interview with VOA Persian TV explained the story of his escape. He announced that he is going to be the representative of Iran's Human Rights Activists in the US.

All main foreign-based Persian media such as BBC Persian Service, Radio Farda, Radio Zamaneh and Rooz Online interviewed Batebi about his departure from his homeland. Some also criticized him for his frequent presence on VOA programs.

In August 2008 Pejman Akbarzadeh gave a Persian piano recital at the University of Cologne and dedicated it to Ahmad Batebi because of his freedom.

See also

*Human rights in Islamic Republic of Iran
*2nd of Khordad Movement

References and notes

Specific references:General references:
* [http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1319.html Amnesty International Urgent Action to get Batebi Medical Treatment, Wife Detained]
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE131032006 Amnesty International: Iran: Further information on fear for safety/ medical concern/ incommunicado detention: Ahmad Batebi (m)]
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130272004 Amnesty International: "Five Years of injustice and ill treatment: Akbar Mohammadi - case sheet"] , July 7, 2004. Accessed May 4, 2007.
* [http://aelme.org/iran-ahmad-batebi Ahmad Batebi Profile The Alliance for Essential Liberties in the Middle East's profile of Ahmad Batebi] Dead link

External links

* [http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-KjyoxDgwc6uQN8Q8PTn1n8dj8oA-?cq=1 Ahmad Batebi's 360 Blog] from Yahoo!
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr9hvrVWuQo Batebi's First Interview with VOA Persian Service]
* [http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/ahmad%20batebi%20tells%20channel%204%20news%20of%20torture%20in%20iran%20and%20flight%20to%20the%20us/2357512 Ahmad Batebi on BBC 4]
* [http://www.payvand.com/news/08/aug/1074.html Piano Recital to be Dedicated to AHMAD BATEBI]