Newsweek's Bahari Recalls Iran Detention

(CBS)  When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor in Iran's presidential election in June, all hell broke loose. Millions of Iranians claimed that the vote had been rigged. The world watched as they took to the streets, posing the most serious threat to the Islamic Republic since it came into being.

But the regime struck back and silenced anyone who dared speak out. You'll hear from a witness to it all, Iranian-Canadian filmmaker and Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari, who was held by the Revolutionary Guard for 118 days.

When he was released, they warned him never to talk about his imprisonment or else. But last week he spoke to spoke to "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon anyway, and gave us a rare insight into what's going on in Iran today.

His ordeal is the cover story of Newsweek, which comes out Monday, Nov. 23.

Newsweek: Four Months Inside an Iranian Prison
Web Extra: "Mr. Hillary Clinton"
Web Extra: "A Peaceful Terrorist"

Peaceful demonstrations turned into riots when paramilitary members of the Revolutionary Guard, called the Basij, came on motorcycles, wielding rifles and batons. They laid into the crowd.

Journalists were banned from being anywhere near the demonstrations, so people stole images with cell phones and beamed them to the rest of the world. It was to become the "YouTube revolution."

"The violence. You'd never seen anything like that?" Simon asked Bahari.

"Never," he replied. "I always had a very scary image of the Revolutionary Guards in my head but I didn't know how far they could go."

Bahari took the risk of shooting some pictures, which more than anything else would later get him into trouble with the regime. He filmed a group of demonstrators attacking a base of the Basij, that paramilitary branch of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The protestors were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. "Basically they want to take over the Basij base," Bahari explained.

"This isn't a demonstration. It's a riot," Simon remarked, looking at video of the crowds. "And the demonstrators just keep on going."

"That's it," Bahari said.

According to Bahari the Basij, armed with rifles, started firing, shooting down a man who had climbed on a fence.

The man was killed. In all, Bahari said five people were killed during this uprising at the base.

Days later, he watched as Iran's most powerful man, Ayatollah Khamenei, accused the foreign media of fomenting the unrest. The supreme leader warned the demonstrators that if they continued protesting they would be crushed.

Khamenei delivered the warning during a national broadcast of his Friday sermon.

Bahari had no idea that he too would be vulnerable. He had been an accredited journalist in Iran for 12 years and was an internationally acclaimed filmmaker. His reputation: telling both sides of the story.

"They certainly knew that you were a fair journalist writing fair and balanced reports," Simon remarked.

"Yes, but they don't like fairness," Bahari said. "You have to be either with them or against them. You cannot see shades of gray. You have to see the world in black and white."

Early one morning, two days after Khamenei's speech, four agents of the Revolutionary Guard came knocking on the door of his Tehran apartment.

"I kind of smelled them before I could see them. There were four of them. And all of a sudden I was smelling sweat and rose water. Because many Iranian officials, they wear rose water 'cause they don't take shower that much," Bahari said.

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[12linus]

These guys at Hitchcock amuse me. I've been through that fabulous facility (not as a patient) probably built on Medicare dollars. The idea of insurance is to spread the risk. But in this increasingly selfish country, everyone wants to throw the seniors under the wheels, even AARP because most of their membership is between 50 and 65, thus not on Medicare. So the docs and Peterson say if we the consumers knew how much it cost and had to pay it all, that would solve the problem. That is like throwing out the baby with the bath water because then many hospitals would shut down, and many doctors would be on the food lines. I say get rid of Medicare totally, not Medicaid, just Medicare. If that is not possible, apply a means test, which is also what they should do for Social Security. For those of us who can afford private insurance, let that be all we get, copays, deductibles, maximum payouts and all, and let the market level the amount of care we get. And please don't blame us when the doctors and hospitals ignore our living wills just to pay for their extra toys and huge salaries.
ps: You should also know that Time magazine, no conservative rag that, had an article perhaps a year ago that said if one is brain dead pull the plug after a few days. But if not brain dead, keep things going for up to a year just in case there could be a full recovery. That is stupid too; who wants to run the risk of being a vegetable? I talked to a lawyer friend of mine about that and he said he has a do not resusitate order.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Says Military Now Rules Iran"

So what?

Seeing as how the US military eats up more of the US GNP than we produce, and no one can challenge them, even when they openly lie and steal, how is the US military rule any different than Iran?

Other than the apparent tendency of our media to help lie about the true nature of our own.

Besides, this is the business of Iranians, and not ours, they can no more stop theirs than we can stop ours, and we certainly cannot stop theirs.

[rickyg2]

this guy is full of ****.now he can write a book and buy a house with this story.a way for him to make money.ass.

[wyodutch]

Good thing he wasn't arrested by Americans... he'd have been water-boarded.

[fredabod]

He has no gut and an intelligent to be, even, a spy. He is kind of person who sells himself and his country for just few dollars. I don?t know why Iranians arrest these kinds of people and make them famous. They shouldn?t kick a dead dog.

[special-agent-utah]

by jgg000015 November 21, 2009 12:15 PM EST
new jersey? paradise? They musta really tortured him.

-------------------------
Stop being lazy madam g.g. ...New jersey with capital "N"
We all make mistakes ...No sweaty

[jgg000015]

new jersey? paradise? They musta really tortured him.

[special-agent-utah]

Another great satan's stoogefest....Bahari taranchula