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The
first and only time I saw him, it was through the
little 'window' on the cell door. Assadollah Lajevrdi
was appointed by Ayatollah Khomeini to head the revolutionary
court inside Tehran's infamous Evin prison. By that
title, he instantaneously became the head of prison
as well. There has been much speculation as to why
he was chosen for that position. One of the more intriguing
was about his background as a political prisoner in
Shah's regime and how he had stood up to the main
Muslim group inside the prison; the People's Mojahedin
(MKO). Now a most prominent member of Mojahedin's
upper leadership was in Evin and his one-time cellmate
he shared a lot of history with, was none other than
Lajevardi. The ex-prisoner turned interrogator Lajevardi
was supposedly brought in to break Sa'adati.
Seyed
Mohammad-Reza Sa'adati was a legend outside those
walls, but nowhere nearly as notable as he was inside.
He had endured years of imprisonment, torture and
hardship under Shah's security police SAVAK, then
essentially became the first political prisoner of
post-revolution era when he was arrested on uncertain
charges of espionage. He had been kept almost exclusively
in a solitary cell, away from all other prisoners
and except for a few second footage of him when a
TV reporter was allowed to sneak in his ward and caught
'Seyed' poking his head briefly out of his cell, nobody
from outside ever saw him.
'Seyed'
was eventually sentenced to a prison term but that
sentence was swiftly interrupted when he was put to
death by Lajevardi a couple of years later, on charges
of "organizing terror" from inside his little
cell. Lajevardi had obviously failed to break Seyed.
There
was an awful sound when the door's small metal opening
was pushed aside. It always managed to straddle the
15 or 20 already scared "inmates", wondering
who will be peeking through or whose name will be
called to come for further "guidance". This
time, all we saw was a pair of eyes mounted on top
of a large eagle-like nose. They were these menacing
eyes that infused terror and freight. It was as if
he had been selected for the job by a great casting
director, right out of Hollywood's biggest production
houses.
The
unforgettable "visit" only lasted a few
seconds. He looked around, appraising everyone inside
and then that noise again and the little door closed
again. Immediately somebody in the back of the room
said "that's Lajevardi" and upon my inquiry
I find out who he was. I like to think he was on his
way to see 'Seyed' again. Not sure why. Maybe it makes
me feel good inside to be connected in this way to
a man I had spent so many of my late afternoons with,
in distributing "Free Sa'adati" pamphlets
or in perfecting the art of spray painting his name
on so many walls all over Tehran.
Over
the next few years, Lajevardi rightly earned the "butcher
of Evin" title by presiding over thousands of
interrogations, issuing brisk sentences and sending
wave after wave of his prisoners to face the firing
squad. He later retired, going back to his old profession
as a merchant in Tehran's famous big Bazaar. This
is also where he met his destiny. 17 years after our
only brief meeting, in the summer of 1998, Assadollah
Lajevardi was assassinated at his store. Mojahedin
immediately claimed responsibility. Although there
are also rumors of this being carried out as a revenge
by a father who had lost his two sons to the Lajevardi
brand of justice. I suppose it really doesn't matter
much who did it, but why.
When
I heard the news, I was truly saddened. I remember
actually saying something to that affect a couple
of days later during a phone interview with a Persian
radio program. The show's host was clearly upset by
my comment and immediately asked what would I have
done if I had been put in charge of deciding Lajevardi's
fate. I said something along this; let's suppose we
have a free and democratic Iran tomorrow where the
rule of law is in place and I am appointed as a judge
or prosecutor for his case, I'd offer him a million
dollars, a blank passport and a one-way ticket to
any destination in the world, in exchange for just
one thing. He must sit down, write, speak and record
and videotape ALL his memories, from the most mundane
to the secret executions and gory details of each
torture session involving rapes, murder under severe
beatings and massive loss of blood. I'd want EVERYTHING
to be recorded. Recorded for all the future generations
to come. For them to not ever forget what happened
in the last part of the 20th century, on this planet
we call home. With his death, all of that is forever
gone and buried with so many details he'd be the only
witness to. We will simply never know.
Revenge
may indeed be a sweet dish. But the pleasure only
lasts so long before the reality sinks in. Before
it becomes clear that violence only breeds further
violence and this vicious circle needs to be stopped
somewhere. Lajevardi, a one-time victim of unjust
imprisonment and torture becomes the purveyor of more
violence almost overnight. Where does it all end?
If our generation doesn't stop this, our kids will
pay the price.
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