We recently heard disturbing news about the critical condition of Abbas Hakimzadeh and Ahmad Ghesaban, two Tehran Polytechnic students jailed at the notorious Evin prison. On Wednesday 13 June a number of students were shouting slogans when this provoked a violent reaction from the prison guards.
As a result of this brutal attack Abbas Hakimzadeh, who was hit on the temple, is now in a coma. Ahmad Ghesaban is reported to have concussion and is also in a serious condition.
We urge everyone, particularly students' unions and organisations throughout the world, to protest against this savage act. Please help us to put pressure on the Iranian authorities so these two students receive immediate and full medical attention and that all students are released without charge.
Militant (a Persian language youth journal)
14 June 2007
Please use this model letter for your protest.
Model letter:
Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
xx July 2007
Dear Mr President
I write to bring to your attention the urgent case of Abbas Hakimzadeh and Ahmad Ghesaban. They are both Tehran Polytechnic students who have received severe head injuries following an attack by prison guards. Abbas Hakimzadeh, who was hit on the temple, is now in a coma and Ahmad Ghesaban has concussion.
I hope that you can bring the authority of your office to put pressure on the relevant officials and bodies at Evin prison so that Mr Hakimzadeh and Mr Ghesaban receive immediate and full medical attention and that they, and all other students, are set free.
I look forward to hearing about your positive intervention in this regard in the international media.
Yours sincerely
[Enter your name here]
Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Fax: 98-21-648.06.65
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
Please send a copy of your protest letters to:
UNHCHR
Petitions Team
Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9022
Email: tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Amnesty International
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London
EC2A 3EA
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 20 7833 1510
Email: info@amnesty.org.uk
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Fax: 1-(212) 736-1300
Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
International Society for Human Rights
Borsigalle 9
D-60388 Frankfurt/M.
Germany
Fax: +49-(0)69-42 01 08-29
Email: is@ishr.org
World Organisation Against Torture
OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21
8, rue du Vieux-Billard
CH-1211 Geneva 8
Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
Email: omct@omct.org
Militant
Email: militantmag@gmail.com
The manifesto of the socialist students of the Polytechnic on recent events
To the [politically] conscious students of the Polytechnic
For some time the ominous shadow of a cultural coup d'état has been bearing down on the University [Note: The Amir Kabir Technology University was formerly known as the Tehran Polytechnic. Many students still refer to it as the Polytechnic.] Banning the [students'] press, arresting student activists, barring the active students [from entering the campus], banning cultural and artistic associations, and so on, all these point to a watershed in the state's disgraceful project. With Ahmadinejad's coming to power and the establishment of unanimity within the state, this project began with the forced retirement of dissident lecturers, limiting cultural and artistic activities, weakening the role of University's trade councils, the passing of severe sentences by the University's suppression committee, marking active students with 'stars' and preventing them from continuing their education, and creating a police siege atmosphere in the University. But it appears that all these tricks for suppressing the University have still not achieved the state's aims.
The University has still not become Islamic. Dissident voices can still be heard at the University. The 16 Azar [7 December, Students' Day] commemorations at universities throughout the country, and with it the humiliation of the head of the Islamic government at the Polytechnic speak of the futility of the suppressive measures. [Note: Students disrupted Ahmadinejad's speech at the Polytechnic, chanting "down with the dictator" and burning his portrait.], Gradually the suppressors have reached the conclusion that they must treat the University in the most severe way: publishing forged journals by the intelligence agents and the basij [mobilisation force] are yet another link in the chains of suppression.
The illegal banning of journals, barring student activists [from the campus], arresting two of the students and making 25 students appear in front of the suppression committee are the results of these events. The events of the past few days have shown that the power struggle between the reformers and the dogmatists has been dragged to the University. (Refer to the positions adopted by the newspapers of the two wings, Kayhan and Etemad-e Melli, on recent events).
The Polytechnic, as an important base of the reformers, is an appropriate place for this power struggle. The reformers, who were themselves the main architects of the previous Cultural Revolution, now see the Cultural Revolution as being in contradiction with their interests. On the one hand there are the manifestos of the youth section of the Participation Front [the main reformist political organisation], the Organisation of the Mojahedin of the Revolution and the position taken by the Islamic Society of the University. On the other hand, there are the supporters of Ahmadinejad, the Kayhan newspaper and the basij. This is the line-up of the two opposing factions. In the midst of this the [politically] conscious students must, by staying away from the faction fight, look to posing their own real demands and by considering the University as part of society (and not separate from it), not limit their demands and protests to the University level. [They] should be aware of this weapon of the state [that is being used to] divert the students' attention from the protest movements like the workers and teachers and preventing the solidarity of these movements. Remember [how] synchronised these movements were with May Day (International Labour Day) and the teachers' strikes.
The state, by making the University's atmosphere chaotic and benefiting from [this chaos], will be more successful in achieving the project of a cultural coup d'état and will inflame the atmosphere of other universities. Therefore by preventing the dragging of these clashes to other universities the students will continue their radical protests at the Polytechnic and unite against the cultural coup d'état.
Our initial demands are the following:
1- The release of all jailed students.
2- Disbanding the suppression committee (the University's Discipline Council).
3- The right to set up independent students' organisations.
4- The closure of non-student bodies established within the University.
5- Lifting of the police siege atmosphere from the University.
6- Lifting the ban on the students' press.
7- Lifting the ban on cultural and artistic associations.
Long live freedom and equality!
Socialist students of the Polytechnic
[Posted on the Tehran Polytechnic students' blog on 8 May 2007.
Translated by Militaant, journal of revolutionary socialist youth in Iran.]
Down with the dictator, down with despotism
According to the latest reports from Evin prison, while the students of the [Tehran] Polytechnic were under the most severe physical and psychological pressure and torture, and were locked up in solitary cells, they nevertheless continued their struggle.
According to this report by [chanting] slogans like "Down with the dictator" and "Down with despotism" the students of the Polytechnic were inspiring each other to resist the pressures bearing on them, and when one of the students would start chanting slogans, the others would join him.
This has happened many times this morning [Wednesday 13 June] in Evin prison and has really enraged the Evin torture squad. This is the [current] situation [even though] during the past few weeks the Evin interrogators have kept the students in solitary cells to prevent contact between them.
It should also be mentioned that the interrogation squad has [under orders] from Hadad, the security deputy of Saeed Mortazavi, been attempting with every type of medieval torture and any possible means to get the students to confess, so that Hadad can conclude his shameful project by the set deadline.
[Posted on the Tehran Polytechnic students' blog on 13 June 2007.
Translated by Militaant, journal of revolutionary socialist youth in Iran.]
Long live the resistance of the Polytechnic's jailed students
A few minutes ago worrying news reached us from Evin prison on the very critical condition of Abbas Hakimzadeh and Ahmad Ghosabian. According to this report, yesterday, after the students of [the Tehran Polytechnic] were chanting slogans like "Down with the dictator" and "Down with despotism", they became faced with the brutal reaction of the security forces.
According to this report Ahmad Ghosabian has concussion and is in a very critical condition and Abbas Hakimzadeh is in a coma following a blow to his temple.
Down with despotism!
Long live liberty!
[Posted on the Tehran Polytechnic students' blog on 14 June 2007.
Translated by Militaant, journal of revolutionary socialist youth in Iran.]