HRANA News Agency – Rasoul Hardany who was arrested at the age of 19 following a domestic hijacking incident has spent more than 14 years in prison. The root cause of this hijacking that later became the subject of an Iranian movie by a renowned director ( Ebrahim Hatami-Kia ) was actually poverty and inadequate living conditions according to the confessions of detainees.

The following is the full text of his letter, a copy of which submitted to HRANA :

“Rasoul Hrdany’s letter from the prion (to reflect and inform the prisoners’ conditions)

In the name of God who is the only one who can issue the verdict.

This is my complaint, the story of a young and miserable man.

My wide open eyes are frightened, and I see very distressing nightmares

Karoun, the beloved river of my city, has turned into rocks

Full of pain and suffering, my moaning is reflective of festering wounds

My dreams are full of iron and rock, and I am really terrified of the nights of prison.

Greetings and peace upon you, the readers who are reading Rasoul Hardani’s letter! On November 14th, 2000, I and my brother Khalid, Abu Amir and my family were forced to migrate by hijacking a plane to start a new life in another country and end 8 years of suffering and tyranny in Khuzestan, where we lost our father. It should be noted that I had not been informed about the plan and found out about it a couple of minutes after the takeoff from Ahwaz to Banda-Abbas when I was socked seeing my brother’s injury. When I saw my brother bleeding, I lost my control and engaged in a fight with the security forces, which resulted in my arrest. Then, I spent several months in the prison of the ministry of information under extremely difficult conditions. At the end, I was sentenced to 22 years in prison without knowing the reason for such an unfair decree. I asked the judge several times about the justification for the sentence, and every time he responded: you will understand when you lose your teeth and your hair turns white. Now, it is more than 15 years that I have spent the most productive time of my young age in the prison. My letters and requests for release or medical leave have been lost or ignored. Every single time I have been referred to different physician and each one has prescribed different medicine. Now, I would like to state that my wish is to be executed and my organs granted to patients, because I don’t want to die in the prison (similar to Akbar Mohammadi who died in prison and his family’s request to bury him in his hometown was denied). I would like to die in my hometown.

I pray God to end my miserable life. You may ask I should remain hopeful and patient, but even solid walls of the prison cannot endure this tyranny and suffering. I am unjustly imprisoned and should spent many years under these conditions only because I am brother of Khaled Hardani and Aboumir. I have to emphasize that my young age is lost and have spent 15 years of my best age in the prison. I have lost several beloved family members during these years and have nothing more to lose, in particular considering the following:

1-    In 2007, the authorities decided to execute my brother, Khalid who was the main support for eight brothers and five sisters. 

2-    I spent the most beautiful and productive years of my young age in the prison. 

3-    After 14 years in prison, I was able to marry. However, because of the long imprisonment time and misleading propaganda against our family, my wife has decided to leave me. I am seriously sick with severe chronic pain in my legs and back, and no physician has been able to find out the root cause of this health complication. 

4-    My requests for leave and pardon have been ignored. The internal media also denied my requests to have access with the justification that it is beyond their accepted red line.

5-    Every single lawyer we have contacted to support us in the court has been either imprisoned (for example, Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh or Alizadeh Tabatabei) or scared away. 

6-    While being imprisoned, the ministry of information has ordered to search our household and has not yet returned our personal belongings after 8 months.

7-    I requested to work in the prison, but it was denied and I was transferred to the closed public section. I have been only allowed to start my studies at the university from the prison and also spend sometimes doing traditional Iranian wrestling and exercise. The most joyful time of my life is when I do exercise and pray God, because in the public section most of the prisoners are busy with corrupt and illegal actions. Now, you can judge for yourself how this situation can be, living with the prisoners who respect no values. 

Now I ask those who would like to help defenseless prisoners; can you save me from this difficult situation? I am asking you to become my voice and highlight the tyranny that I have been facing. Please ask the authorities to execute me and donate all my organs to the patients who need. I am expressing my consent to do this, and I pray God to put my soul in peace. 

Rasoul Hardani, the prisoner and student of applied sciences

Code 92126003160006

Time: 4:00 am, 09November2014

Alone forever in my bed in the prison