Alirza Quluncu - Rooz - September 21, 2010
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| Said Matinpour |
"Said Matinpour is indeed a man of genuine dignity. He is a person of great composure. However, despite having a strong will, he has health issues. He has never mentioned whether this is due to the effects of torture or not, but in any case, he urgently needs medical treatment. His spine hurts, and he cannot stand for long periods."
These words have been quoted by the press in Azerbaijan from Rashid Aliyev, a citizen of Azerbaijan who was recently released from Evin Prison after spending one year and four months in prison on charges of espionage.
Two days earlier, on September 20, 2010, was the birthday of Said Matinpour, a human rights activist and Azerbaijani Turk journalist who is serving an eight-year sentence in Evin Prison. The words of this laser physics scholar from Azerbaijan are all the information that I and many others have about Said Matinpour's current situation in Evin Prison.With this bitter news about Said's health, which is not new, discussing birthday celebrations and lamenting that he couldn't spend his birthday with his family seems excessive. However, for those of us who quickly forget the silenced voices, this anniversary is a reminder to our ears to hear that the silence of voices like Said's is louder than the cries of others. We who do not bother our lazy minds to think of the reasons behind this silence understand that the secret of the protest voices we hear today in defense of our basic rights, from the alleys of Zanjan, Urmia, and Ardabil to the stadiums of Tabriz, lies in the silence of Said and others like him and their silenced pens.
When I see the birthday greetings for Said on Facebook, I feel compelled to visit his blog "Ahl-e Zanjan." I write down the address and press enter. It says: "This blog has been blocked by the Task Force for Determining Criminal Content." I go to his page "Haq," where he used to write news about political prisoners in Azerbaijan [Iranian Azerbaijan], but it has disappeared without a trace; it’s as if this page never existed. Did you think that while he is behind bars, they would not block his blogs?
I last saw Said four years ago when I was living in the border city of Van, Turkey. He had gone to Istanbul for a few days. He wrote that we should meet on his way back. His suitcases were heavy and difficult to lift, and when I asked what was inside, he opened them and showed me. Most of the contents were thick, heavy books on philosophy, politics, and literature, and sociology published in Turkey, which he had bought in Istanbul, along with two handmade Azerbaijani rugs that he had brought for sale. The rugs were not bought at a good price, and he planned to take them back. He said that last time, he had covered his travel expenses with the profit from selling a rug. However, this time he wasn’t sure if he would have enough money to reach Zanjan. I knew a garage that had minibuses going to the border village of Sero in Urmia, and the ticket prices were relatively cheap. We calculated the costs; with the money he had, he could make it to Zanjan, but he shouldn't buy anything along the way.
After arriving in Zanjan, he sent an email saying he had been interrogated at the Urmia border and that his passport, 35 books, and 3 philosophy magazines in Turkish that he had bought in Turkey were confiscated. He also attached a letter addressed to the director of the Intelligence Department of West Azerbaijan: "I hereby inform you that I, Said Matinpour, residing in Zanjan, was stopped by the agents of the Intelligence Department at the Saro border checkpoint on the first of Aban at around 9:30 AM when returning from Turkey. Two agents stationed at the kiosk next to the police station searched my suitcase, backpack, clothes, and body, during which they asked me many questions, mostly illegal and related to personal matters. To show goodwill and expedite the process, I answered some questions. I explained the reason for my trip to Turkey and the city of my residence. However, while they were flipping through my phone book and notes, they asked me about the owners of two phone numbers, which is, of course, a personal matter, and I refrained from answering, reminding them of the illegality of their questions. At the end of the inspection, they set aside my 35 books and three magazines, along with two notebooks, one of which was completely blank and unused, and in the other, there were only a few lines written on one page."
At the end of the letter, he requested that the Intelligence Department return his passport and books: "You are aware that the questions and answers of the agents have no legal basis and are akin to an interrogation of thoughts. Secondly, all foreign goods and possessions confiscated within the country must be reviewed by customs experts, and ultimately, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance will be the criterion for books and magazines. However, despite more than fifteen days having passed since the confiscation of the aforementioned books and materials, the Intelligence Department has neither provided answers nor guided me to customs or the Ministry of Culture. Thirdly, what legal basis does the confiscation of a passport have, and why has it not been returned to date? I kindly request you, as a responsible authority, to issue the necessary orders for the return of my passport and to inform me of the final result regarding the review of the books."
This was Said's way: trying to solve issues through dialogue. He would never reject dialogue with any person or group; rather, he persistently invited the opponent to engage in conversation.
Two months after the book confiscation incident at the border, he was arrested during the protests on February 21 in observance of International Mother Language Day, and after a while, he was temporarily released. One or two months later, on the second anniversary of the protests over the caricature in the Iran newspaper, he was arrested again. He endured months of torture and solitary confinement to give false confessions, and later, an eight-year prison sentence was imposed on him.
In these nearly four years, it's not just me who hasn’t seen Said. His family has had even less chance to see him; most of this time, he has either spent in the detention centers of the Intelligence Ministry and prison, or if he was released, he was searching for a job after being dismissed from his position at the Zanjan governor's office, going from one court to another for summonses and trying to see doctors and attend physical therapy sessions due to the effects of torture. Now, he has neither the right to leave nor the right to a proper visit with his family, who must travel from Zanjan to Tehran to see him, only to see his face through glass without hearing his breath or heartbeat, and to hear his voice through a telephone line.
Link to the original text in Farsi: https://rooz.hilnu.com/persian/news/newsitem/article/-3a5e28f8e9/