How Ahmad Batebi Survived Torture In Iran

Tells 60 Minutes How A Photo Taken Of Him During A Protest Got Him Sentenced To Death

(CBS)  Ghaemi told 60 Minutes he has documented the cases of 45 Iranian prisoners who were tortured. He says mistreatment of detainees by the United States makes it harder to pressure Iran to stop torturing its prisoners.

"The work of human rights defenders worldwide is made so difficult and almost impossible in holding governments like Iran accountable and shaming them as long as we have torture in places like Guantanamo," he argued.

Iran denies that it tortures prisoners. An Iranian official who did not want to be identified told 60 Minutes, "There are no types of torture used on prisoners."

Three years ago, when Iran's judiciary admitted that torture was used to extract confessions, they had promised it would stop. But human rights groups say it has not.

"No. Not at all," Ghaemi told Cooper. "Right now all the testimonies that we collect talk about people being forced to make confessions, false confessions."

The irony of Ahmad Batebi's case is that the same picture which got him sentenced to death may have also saved his life.

"The fact that your photo had been seen around the world put pressure on the Iranian government in some ways to keep you alive," Cooper remarked.

"Yes, this was also a result. This was a good thing that happened as well," he replied.

Batebi's death sentence was reduced to 15 years, but after nine years he began having seizures. Last spring he was released temporarily for medical treatment. That's when he decided to make a run for it, documenting his three day journey from Tehran to Iraq on his cell phone camera.

His attorney says she convinced her White House contacts to allow him to enter the U.S. for humanitarian reasons. He lives in Washington now, working in radio for Voice of America, trying to adjust to a new country, a new life and trying to make sure that the others still in prison are not forgotten.

Asked if he feels free now, he told Cooper, "No, I don't feel free. I have a responsibility to the people imprisoned in Iran whose human rights are being violated. I have to get their message out. And it’s a big responsibility that doesn't leave one free. But to an extent I do feel free. I live in a free country and I've left prison."

"So, your body is free but your heart is not?" Cooper asked.

"That's exactly the way it is," Batebi replied.

[Shirindokht]

Anderson, Thanks for your humanitarian work. Dorood bar shoma.
Please do more reports on Iran. There are no human rights in Iran under the Islamic regime. Women's right have been violated. There is no Democracy in Iran. Iran was the first country in the world with Human Rights of Cyrus the Great. We need to help Iranian people in Iran to become free again.

I always enjoy watching your reports. You are the best.

[TonyPic]

Anderson, Please note IRAN is not the Islamic Regime that high-jacked the country.

The country was high-jacked by outsiders in 1979.

Thanks for your reporting!

[rottengods]

Anderson Cooper asked: "What the purpose of torture in Iran is" let me explain on this issue a little here. The purpose of torturing detainees in Islamic Iran is to extract confessions, to make them recant their beliefs in televised announcement and associate activists (or dissidents or in fact anyone that regimes opposes to) in activities such as spying for foreign intelligence services, violating of national security laws, insulting sacred religious icons, spreading Satanists beliefs, propagation of apostasy and etc. It depends on the person?s activity in society, for instance in the case of Mr. Batebi, an student activists, of course a televised confession would help regime?s propaganda machine to fabricate stories about foreign threats and then suppress dissidents.

Please read more in my page: http://www.rottengods.com/2009/04/torture-islamic-iran-exists.html

Fariborz Shamshiri
www.rottengods.com

[achicago]

I watched this article on 60 Minutes on Sunday and wrote down a comment that evenng. For the heck of it, I checked this out to see if were any more and was amazed that there were a million more. Many had nothing to the about the article, yet some wanted an opportunity to your political opinion. Try to keep it in the article's ballpart. Thank you

[PaxPersica]

Loopy, the die-hard agent of the Islamic Repugnat, writes:

"Iran is the most EDUCATED, OPEN , MODERN, TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED, MILITARILY POWERFUL, POLITICALLY CONNECTED TO THE MASSES IN THE REGION."

The operative word here is "region." In a region that includes Afghanistan and a war-torn Iraq, that doesn't real lymean a hell of beans! It's like saying the Los Angeles Clippers are so wonderful, they're just behind the Lakers as the 2nd best team in Los Angeles. Of course, Loopy won't get this analogy as he rides his little donkey in Qom.

And yeah, compared to the Saudis, Iran is open, but then again, women can't even drive a car in Saudi Arabia, so comparing Iran to the "region" is not saying much AT ALL!!!!

Iran is not Arab and Islam did not originate in Iran, so don't compare us to the Arabs. I'll give you a more powerful comparison. In 1977, UNDER THE SHAH, Iran had the same GDP as Spain. Today, Spain's GDP is a little over one trillion dollars. Iran's GDP is 150 Billion! And Spain HAS NO OIL!

SAD!!!

How's that fuzzy math for you, loopy???

[loobiapolo]

To our PAXI MAXI , who ran out of material( or correctly no-material) after two emotional posts.
You said :? Nobody will waste time reading long blocks of jibber-jabber, specially when it's all lies and half-truths.?
Nobody? Hmmmm you read them , at least two of my posts, so are you telling us you are nobody?
You said:? All I will say is, IF the Islamic Republic is such a fabulously educated place, why does EVERYBODY who lives in it WANT OUT?????????
Everybody wants out? Everybody? Hmm So if only just ONE person does not wish to leave Iran that will destroy your ?Everybody? claim. Is there anybody who really does not want to leave I.R.Iran? Well I know there are at leaset 25,000-35,000 Iranian Jews who have been approached by Israelis to leave Iran and so far they have rejected the idea, these are the same Iranian Jews who are allowed to travel to Israel , come and go but they choose to live in Iran.
So I think your ?Everybody? argument is gone with the wind.
By the way , do you like FUZZY math? How about FUZZY logic?
Hahahahhahahh
People like you and Mr.Batebi are simply not ready for prime time, I can see Batebi and you are making full efforts to drag I.R.Iran?s name in the mud, but it takes more than hyperbolic , emotional propaganda to do that if ever.
As I said, today?s I.R.Iran is the most EDUCATED, OPEN , MODERN, TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED, MILITARILY POWERFUL, POLITICALLY CONNECTED TO THE MASSES IN THE REGION country in that part of the world which ironically has a lot in common with US in many issues that ranges from securing the future of world energy resources, countering Chinese and Russian influence, influence in Iraq, Afghanistan , resolution to the Palestinians-Israeli conflict , fighting drug cartels, and lot more including opening and expanding economic ties with US , it is lot more beneficial for both countires specially given the fact that Iran has created a rich human resources through three decades of dedication to educating their public all the way to higher levels of education.

[PaxPersica]

Loopyloobia --

Nobody will waste time reading long blocks of jibber-jabber, specially when it's all lies and half-truths. I certainly didn't read the 2nd block of jibberish. So nice job wasting your time, pal.

All I will say is, IF the Islamic Republic is such a fabulously educated place, why does EVERYBODY who lives in it WANT OUT????????

It's like Cuba, oh, they're so educated there too (engineers drive taxi cabs, just like in Iran), but the people risk their lives over shark-infested waters to get the hell out!!! But they have such good institutions of higher learning there, it's a such a shame (loopy, please try to note sarcasm here).

Please, let some unbiased person answer. You're way too influenced by your perverse masters in Tehran/Qom to qualify.

[loobiapolo]

Part Two:
To our PAXI MAXI:

Let me say it again LOUD and CLEAR:
-Iran under Shah and his father , the founder of Pahalvi tyranny which lasted more than half a century was 75% illiterate, being illiterate was not such a bad thing , it was almost like a virtue under Pahlavi tyranny since the founder of this tyranny, the father of the Shah who was called Reza Shah, himself was ?functionally illiterate?, he could not read not write his own name and he was the KING of the country!!!, maybe there was no Islamic Republic of Iran to educate him just like it has educated millions of Iranians ever since the declaration of ?Education Movement?. Hahhahahahahahhah
-Iran under Islamic Republic has more students attending colleges and universities than the entire population of some of its neighboring Persian Gulf countries and I am happy to say that 65% of all these college and university students are WOMEN, Out of my seven nieces guess how many have university education? You guessed it ?ALL SEVEN, and my family is just a lower middle class.
-Iran under Islamic Republic has implemented the most successful ?family ? planning program among the developing countries, this is not because of prostitution since that argument could not pass the fuzzy math test but because of the efforts of many Iranian intellectuals, educators, Ayatollahs, politicians, writers, activists and government officials,
My nieces either have none yet or one and at most two kids, not because they are busy selling their body but because they are educated women and educated people make better decisions,
Under Islamic Republic of Iran women have become socially politically very active and have become very educated, I.R.Iran is probably the only country in the world that has ?all women? SWAT team, ?all women? fire station? all women? Taxi companies (with more than 1000 taxis), Iran?s fastest race car driver is, you guessed it , a WOMAN a very educated woman, last I read about her she was finishing up her Doctorate studies, Iran?s head of aeronautics research which has produced Iranian made fighter and interceptor jets is , you guessed it , a WOMAN, This doe not mean Iranian women have no more fights to fight, it just shows how much they have advanced under Islamic Republic.
Shah, the Pahlavi tyrant who was put in power by a CIA engineered military coup de tat in an interview with Barbara Walter said this about women:? I will not choose my wife as my successor , because women are only good for ?play?? He went on to say that ?I don?t understand this thing about women?s liberation, women have not even produced one good cook in the history of mankind? His wife sat there next to him and took it all. I.RIran put an end to those days.

-You said Iran has a brain drain problem? Hmmmm..Iran under sand monkeys such as Shah and his thugs could not even manufacture ?barbed wires? not even a headlight for fighter jet, Iran under Islamic Republic manufactures its own fighter jets, choppers, tanks, missiles, and what have you , it has become a nuclear power and is one of the 8 or nine countries in the world that has the technology to put a satellite in orbit, not bad for a country that has ?brain drain? problem and has been under sanctions for almost 30 years. Do you like FUZZY logic? ?
-Islamic Republic of Iran is the most educated , most open and modern country in that part of the world, Islamic Republic of Iran is LIGHT years more open , educated and modern than it was under Shah, no body waits for three years to get a land line telephone any more ? Under Shah more than half of the country in the villages did not have running water no r electricity, those are old days and are gone with .
There are no open gays life style in IR.Iran but Iran has executed some pedophiles, in one case two young men in their early twenties were hung in public , they had kidnapped , sexually assaulted and murdered a two dozen young BOYS. No one should confuse pedophiles with gays,
I.R.Iran has the world?s most active sex change operation hospital, Maryam becomes Mohammad or vise versa with just four thousand dollars. ?
Almost 30 years ago Ronald Reagan said ?Islamic Republic of Iran is a political reality? He was wayyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of his time. Today Obama has come to that realization, if US wants to counter the influence of China and Russia, it has no choice but to hook up with the biggest dick in the region I.R.Iran. All other Persian Gulf countries from Emirates to what have you are nothing but a BIG SHOPPING MALL. I.R.Iran is the most educated, most OPEN, most modern , most technologically advanced country in that part of the world?..and so it goes?.

[loobiapolo]

Part One:
To our PAXI MAXI, ?freedom loving? turned into an emotional wreck
I will respond to you in two parts since it won?t allow me to post more than 5000 characters.
Right off the bat you called me a name :
? You're a CLASSIC Islamic Repuplic stooge and nothing more!?
Why would a character like you call himself/herself a ?freedom loving? one minute and as soon as challenged with his/her non facts and fictions, pops his/her top and starts calling people names?
You see, when you become emotional you act and talk stupid and now I am not even calling you a name but simply am talking matter of factly.
-Iran has a population of 70 million and a 7 million addicts would make one out of every ten people an addict if we believe your number, even in Afghanistan that is the epicenter and probably the number one opium producing country in the world, the number of addicts is not that high. Where did you get that 7 million? BTW, do you like FUZZY math? ?
-According to you 650, 000 prostitutes are only in Tehran, since Tehran?s population is about 7.5 million (not the greater Tehran) and if we assume that half of the population is ?female? and among these females none of them are old or older or infants or little kids and all of them are just adult females young and attractive somehow to become prostitutes, now according to your numbers, almost 2 out of every 10 of these women have to be a prostitute, hmmm
Even in Las Vegas that is not true . BTW, do you like ?FUZZY? math? Or did I ask that already.
Now I am not going to go through each one of your ?invented facts? and then ask you if you like fuzzy math.

[GulfPersian]

The rejection of modernity was a big part of the Islamic revolution in 1979. The first time that Khomeini revolted against the Shah was in 1963 when the Shah introduced wide-reaching reforms (specially for women). The mullahs make a stink of it on the streets of Qom and the Shah exiled Khomeini to Iraq.

Modernity = the death of the mullahs.

[PaxPersica]

By the way, if there were so many illiterates in Iran before the revolution, that's because the MULLAHS for centuries were in charge of educating the masses, and of course, they intentially kept the people backward, superstitious and in the dark, for that is the only way they could have a powerful role in society (when people are backward and superstitious). The minute the Shah tried to wake the masses up from their thousand year sleep of Islamic paradise, the mullahs and the left (which hated America's capitalist friends) joined forces to kick him out.

Don't blame the Shah for the illiteracy in Iran in 1978, blame your sponsors, the Islamic clergy, the repugnant mullahs, who don't give a hill of beans about Iran! Isn't that what your leader, Ayatollah Khomeini said back in 1979, "We don't care if Iran goes up in smoke, so long as Islam survives." And now, they want a nuclear weapon!

What a farce!

[PaxPersica]

Loobiapolo --

You're a CLASSIC Islamic Repuplic stooge and nothing more!

Selective facts, which mean absolutely nothing in-and-of themselves. How about the 7 million drug addicts in Iran, which has the highest per capita heroin addicts in the world? How about the 650,000 prostitutes in the city of Tehran alone? Why do Iranian women sell themselves when over 60 percentage of them attend universities?

Because they have NO hope in the mullah society. NO opportunities! When women sell themselves at such a high rate, that is an intentional act of NATIONAL SUICIDE! The women don't want to bring kids into the Iranian society, because they have NO HOPE in the future! That's why the birth rate in Iran is declining at the rate of some Western European countries!

What's more, Iran suffers from MASSIVE brain drain! Anyone capable of leaving Iran LEAVES the minute they have a chance! All the best and the brightest in Iran have left their homeland because the Islamic Republic is a REPUGNANT government that not only cannot provide opportunites for its own people and it ABUSES their rights at every meaningful turn!

And all of those submarines, missiles and rockets and satellites that you speak of are ALL -- all of them -- made from North Korean technology!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're a joker and a fraud, loobiapolo, and I'd be laughing silly if it wasn't so sad!

And you say that the Iranian society is "open?" Are you kidding me? People disappear for having a contrary opinion. If you're GAY, you're DEAD! If you convert from Islam to Christiantiy, you're DEAD! It you're BAHAI, you're DEAD! If you're a Mujahed, you're DEAD! If you say one bad thing about the mullahs, you're DEAD! If you're a woman adulterer, you're STONED DEAD!

Open society? What a sad joke! Just two weeks ago, a blogger was murdered in Evin Prison for just writing to Khameini in a blog ("Do you love me as much as you love a Palestinian?")

And as far as elections -- AGAIN, are you kidding me???? Even Saddam Hussein had "elections," as did the former Soveit Union!!! Tell us, if Iran is a representative government, who elects the Supreme Leader (who is a KING with a turban instead of a crown, the REAL decision maker in Iran)?

A bunch of UN-ELECTED mullahs nominate the Supreme Leader, NOT the people! The presidents in Iran have NO real power, they just make speeches for the unelected mullahs! Even in the last presidential "elections" THOUSANDS of qualified non-Islamists were REJECTED from running for the presidency!

Loobiapolo, you're the worst kind of PARASITE that prolongs the life of this evil regime with YOUR LIES and HALF-TRUTHS! How do you sleep at nights knowing that you have so much blood on your hands AND knowing that you have turned a once-proud country into a terrorist nation?

[loobiapolo]

I have been reading some of the comments of I.R.Iran haters with great amazement.
It seems that when it comes to I.R.Iran , every one of these characters are not only entitled to thier own opinion (which they should be) but they seem to be entitled to thier own facts too. My message to all those whiners is that "you can have your own opinions but not your own facts".
Obama is not the first US president who called Iran Islamic Republci Iran , Ronald Reagan did it befor him when he said :"Islamic Republic of Iran is a political reality" He was much ahead of his time.
When Shah fled Iran after him and his father ruling it for more than half a century, 75% of Iranianw were illiterate , they could not write or read their own names, today Iran's population as a whole is mroe than 80% literate and among the 15-24 , among men 98% and among women 96% are literate.
Under the Islamic Republic of Iran , the number of university and college students has risen to levels unheard of in Iran's history and the neighboring countries' history, in Islamic Republic of Iran 65% of all colleges and university students are WOMEN. hahhahahahahahahahha are you shocked?
Under Shah, Iran could not even produce a headlight for a fighter jet , they could not even manufacture barbed wires and during the Iran-Iraq war they had to buy it from balckmartkets around the world (since barbed wire has dual use and Iran was under sanction just like now), that is what Shah left , but today Islamic Republic of Iran prooduces its own fighter jets, tanks, missiles, guns, mini submarine and what have you.
Under Islamic Republic , Iran has become one of the 8 or 9 countires in the world that has the technology to put a satelite in orbit, Iran has become a nuclear power,
today's Islamic Republic of Iran is light years more open, educated and advanced , it is the most educated country in the region, there are more students attending univeristy in Iran than the entire population of some of Iran's neighbors hahahhahahahahhaha
I.R.Iran has a representative government , there was lot more openness right after the Islamic revolution till the losers of the elections declared "armed uprising" against the people of Iran and in the process just one organiztion MKO (who later joined Saddam to fight agianst Iranians ) is responsible for the assasination and murder of 16,000 Iranians. These terrorists organizations from Kurdish terrorist groups to some of the communist to radical Muslims such a s MKO picked a fight and lost and got their ass kicked ...how sweet it was ..Iranians don't get body searched anymore when entering a , say , bank or a government office or school, something they had to go through thanks to these freedom!! loving terrorists who made life a living hell for Iranian citizens just like AlQaeda is doing in Iraq now and especially before.
In couple of month from now another presidential election is coming to Iran, did I say election? ooooooh yeaaaaaaa...the same thing that these terrorists organizations hated the most since they could not muster enough votes to RULE like Stalin or Saddam hahahah

It is a long story but you catch the drift :)
Don't getme wrong , I.R.Iran has had its share of shortcomings but at the same time has licked its wounds and has grown up ....all those achievements in Iran has been accomplished while Iran has been under sanctions . Not bad ha?

[PaxPersica]

Brainteaser2 --

Believe me, nobody wants you (the US or any other foreign country) to get involved in Iranian affairs. That's the whole fear right now, in that the US is about to get involved in either one of two ways; and with Obama in the White House, the fear amongst the opposition groups is that the US will give the mullahs a grand bargain as if they were the legitimate rulers of Iran, which they are NOT!

The other fear is a military strike, which was all too real under the Bush adminisration, but not so much now.

Iranians like myself don't want the US to get involved in any manner -- all we want is moral support for the PEOPLE to rise up and overthrow this illigitimate, sadistic regime. Sadly, Obama does NOT help this cause when he sends a message directly to the leadership in Iran, as opposed to addressing the people in Iran.

In his new year message to Iran, Obama never mentioned a single word about LIBERTY, FREEDOM, or HUMAN RIGHTS. That's a travesty, from a democrat no less! What he managed to accomplish, however, was the legitimization of a fascistic regime, specially when he referred to Iran as the "Islamic Republic of Iran."

NO OTHER AMERICAN PRESIDENT SINCE THE 1979 REVOLUTION HAD REFERRED TO IRAN AS SUCH!!!!!!!! That was a travesty as well! So, no, even with such horror stories like Batebi's, we don't want you or any other foreign country to "get involved" in our affairs.

All we ask (and by "we" I'm referring to freedom-loving Iranians) is for the USA not to make any deals with the mullahs that would give them a new lease on life. These parasites are treading on very thin ice and they know it all too well -- with the economy in shambles and 70% of the population under age 30, they know that their days are numbered.

So, no, we don't want your troops, nor your bombs, just MORAL SUPPORT to encourage us to rise up and wipe this regime out of existence. Please, don't be like the Europeans who turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the mullahs for the sake of Euros and dollars! European nations like Germany, France, England and Italy prolong the life of this terroristic regime with their business deals and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Indeed, European mercantalism stands squarely against liberty and freedom in Iran. We do not want the US to follow in Europe's footsteps. Sadly, Obama seems to be doing just that!

[Azad_Moradian]

Dear Mr. Cooper,

On Sunday April 5 , I was very pleased to see you on your program ?60 Minutes? bringing up and having the courage for first time of US TV Media to talk about the crimes committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I have to thank you, and your news station as well.
As you know, the Islamic Republic of Iran for the past 30 years has committed genocide against ethnic minorities such as the continued Kurdish genocide for more than three decades, (and still continues to do the same way), against religious minorities , political prisoners, and women activists.

The IRI, has been committing a crime against thousands of Human Rights activist and Political Activists , inside and outside Iran .The atrocities and crimes committed by this barbaric regime has affected the lives of thousands of great Iranian people, who have been assassinated by the Islamic guards. Great people such as Iranian Kurdish Leaders Dr. Ghasemlu, Dr. Sharafkandi , and Dr. Shahpour Bakhtiar the former prime minister before the Islamic Revolution.
Again thank you for your great work.

Azad Moradian
Chair of Kurdish American Committee for Democracy and Human Right in Iran_KNCNA

[brainteaser2]

It would appear that if some thing is going to be done in Iran then the Persian people are going to have to do it. I'm sure there are numerous countries that will support the effort but this country will need to do it. Horror stories like this will not persuade me into getting involved in Iran.

[lavender919]

mikewatt9 Thanks for mentioning the plight of Baha'is in Iran. Being a Baha'i myself i am also aware of their suffering. I am glad that Anderson Cooper at least brought to attention the awful torture & killing of people in Iran in general. In turn this will also bring more attenition to the Baha'is there. And i agree with you,..there should be coverage on religious persecutions in Iran as well.

[PaxPersica]

By the way, the mullahs would have created a fanciful charge against Batebi and executed him too, except there was his picture on the cover of the Economist holding up a bloody shirt at a political rally.

Tough luck, mullahs! Now with the help of Anderson Cooper, Batebi has given you a much-needed black eye!

Thanks a million, Anderson!!!

[PaxPersica]

MysteriousJZ

If you believe the "official" charge of why the two teenage boys were killed, then I have this little bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to lease or sell to you for a very reasonable price. Everybody in the know, that is, everybody in Iran knows that the mullahs create fanciful charges (drug dealing, rape, etc.) against political prisoners so as to justify their slaughter.

These two teenagers were charged with raping a child, but everybody knows that they were killed for being gay. If you believe the mullahs, then you should also believe them when they say that the Iranian blogger who died in Evin last week committed "suicide."

What a joke!

As for "free" people shooting their own kids in America, what the HELL does that have to do with the existence of torture in Iran?!!! I mean, this is getting ridiculous! Human beings do crazy thngs! Are you saying that the US government and Israel is somehow responsible for that crazy woman in Texas who drowned her 5 kids in a bathtub? What the hell does that have to do with Batebi's torture. Please get a grip on reality!

By the way, it's comical how Obama and the left are so concerned with closing Gitmo, a prison for very dangerous terrorists, some of whom would cut your head off if they had the chance, and yet, Obama is so ready to make friends with a bunch of mullahs in Iran who have over 100 Gitmos spread out across the country housing purely innocent political prisoners (the Batebis of the world)! There's so much deception and hypocracy in this world, specially in this White House!

Why doesn't Obama say a word about closing all the Gitmos in Iran???

[mikewatt9]

Anderson Cooper's story did much to shine the light on the fate of political dissidents. I am surprised that he did not touch upon the fate of Iran's persecuted religious minorities, especially the Baha'is. Baha'is, in particular, are regarded as apostates and heretics and have suffered unrelenting persecution. You may want to check out <www.elegantbay.com/iran/safeguard.htm> Perhaps you could do a followup that focuses on religious persecution. - Thanks for your coverage!