A Photo Creates a Political Prisoner

Roozonline:

When Ahmad Batebi was imprisoned, he was only 22 years old. He was arrested because his photograph appeared on the front cover of the British Economist magazine that was covering the university student protests 6 years ago which were attacked by the police. Batebi became the symbol of the Iranian student movement. And even though the publication of this powerful photograph was banned in Iran, it touched the eyes of millions through the internet. READ MORE

Batebi is now in his sixth year in prison. He has been condemned for 15, that is 9 more years. More importantly, when Batebi was arrested, he was a young film-maker who had gone to the university to film the student protests, but he was not a political activist. The prison years have politicized him so much that these days he makes political pronouncements that are respected by students and others, he passes judgment on the elections, calls on the students to boycott them, and engages in other political activities from inside the prison or when he is on leave.

Just 5 years ago, Batebi wrote a letter to the Special Judiciary Team describing how he had been treated the night of his arrest and interrogations. A bold gesture which could have cost him his life, but it also established him as a respected student political activist.

Batebi has been on prison-leave since the beginning of this year (i.e. March 21st, 2005) but a warrant was issued in June for his arrest apparently because he did not return back to prison at the set date. Subsequently he did return, after getting married. His attorney had requested that his case be referred to the Supreme Court, pending a date for a hearing.

In prison, Batebi tried to utilize the minimum available resources to be politically active and to work for social and political causes. He also pursued his studies. He
managed to get into Payam Noor University and left the prison for the exams. But
he also suffers from new illnesses, even though he is only 28 years old.

According to his mother, he has an illness that doctors have diagnosed to be similar to MS (Multiple Scleroses). He himself says his ear has hearing problems and his eyes, especially the left one, are now weak. His teeth are broken too.

He also says that he has weaker nerves and that he also suffers from all kinds
of bone and muscular pains. All thanks to the tortures he has been subjected to
while incarcerated.

On one of his leaves from prison, Batebi managed to meet UN Ambeyi Ligabo, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, while the latter visited Tehran and talk about his plight. The authorities did not like this and so arrested him and returned him back to prison.

This arrest episode resembled more a kidnapping event as Batebi was trapped by the police. They even kept his arrest a secret until quite recently. According to the BBC, Batebi’s father has described the horrible treatment his son was subjected to after talking to Ligabo, which required medical treatment according to prison authorities, but which have been denied to him till today.

In one of his recent acts, Batebi co-signed a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, warning of the election fraud during the last presidential elections, which he had boycotted. He had signed a similar letter after the last local council elections.

On the question of who took Batebi’s photograph that got him into all of this, there
seems to be some differing opinion. Jamshid B has claimed that he took the original photograph, and no one else has so far officially claimed the same. But this has not been verified by others and in fact some photographers dispute Jamshid’s claim. A person who has been attributed this photo although he never claimed it himself is Hassan Sarbakhshian, the AP photographer in Iran.

So while some have condemned the photographer, whoever he is, for getting Batebi into trouble, other events have brought forward other similar sensitive photographs. For example there is one showing a student holding another woman student who appears to be unconscious. They are part of the student protests and government crackdown.

But still, Batebi remains the symbol of the student movement and their protests for more humane treatment and human rights.