Stop Fundamentalism – Forty days past Sattar Beheshti’s death under torture while in custody of Iranian police, family of the dissident blogger gathered along with a considerable number of Iranian citizens in Robat Karim cemetery near Tehran to honor his memory, yesterday.
The ceremony turned into a protest against the clerical regime.
“You killed my guardian, God destroy you,” screamed Sattar’s mother while walking through the cemetery holding a large picture of her son. “I’m proud of my son. Torturers said he laughed while they were beating him. I’m proud of him.” Sattar’s sister was accompanying her mother, holding a picture of the victim. She was also screaming that she was proud of her brother.
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Iranian security agents swarmed the ceremony, beating the family. Sattar’s mother was injured during the attack. At one point, protesting participants had to struggle to free Sattar’s brother from the hands of the security forces who were trying to arrest him. Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance, in a statement that was released today, reported that a number of people, including some who had a camera, were arrested during the ceremony and taken to unknown locations.
According to NCRI press release, security agents had closed all entries to Robat Karim since early morning yesterday and there was heavy police presence through the city.
Sattar Beheshti died under torture last month after being arrested by the Iranian Cyber Police for blogging against the regime. His case caused an international outcry, highlighting the situation of human rights and freedom of press in Iran.
In his blog posts Sattar Beheshti repeatedly distanced himself from those who do not seek fundamental change in the country. In fact once he criticized a website for censoring his writings when it came to calls for fundamental change, rejecting the idea that there could be any genuine reform from within the mullahs regime.
Amnesty International called for explanation and justice for the blogger. “What is especially devastating for Sattar Beheshti’s family is that even though their traditional mourning period has come to a close, there are still many unanswered questions about how and why he died while in the custody of the Cyber Police,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program, the website of Amnesty International.
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