Making America More Like Iran

The Democrats are actually doing America proud with their words in the torture debates happening concurrently in the House and Senate. Matt Stoller seems to think that we can still stop this horrendous bill. And we should all call the offices of our representatives in Washington.

I hope that when you do, you bring their attention to this story from today's Washington Post. This is the America George Bush and Dick Cheney are seeking. Simply put, they want it to look like Iran.

Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini, a former Iranian lawmaker who has been jailed without charges in Tehran for more than 100 days, was briefly released from detention last Thursday to attend a memorial service, where he shouted out allegations of torture and other harsh treatment, according to his lawyers and other witnesses quoted by a human rights organization.

"For the past 20 days, prison officials have chained my hands and feet. I am being tortured," Khoini loudly announced to bystanders at the memorial service for Khoini's father, according to several people at the event who relayed the incident to New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Khoini has been held without charges in an Iranian prison for 100 days. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

Khoini is a victim of torture enacted by the Iranian government attempts to interrogate him. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

"I am held in solitary confinement and interrogated four times a day," Khoini reportedly shouted. "They wake me up in the middle of the night to interrogate me. They are trying to turn me to a mental patient." Referring to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he added, "They are forcing me to denounce my beliefs, to repent for my activities, and to ask forgiveness from Khamenei."

Khoini is subjected to sleep deprivation, shackling, and harsh interrogation methods. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

Khoini, the son of a cleric and a member of Iran's reformist bloc, had long challenged Iran's judiciary and intelligence services for human rights abuses during his tenure as a legislator from 2000 to 2004. He made frequent visits to prisons and publicly searched for secret detention centers in his efforts to expose what he called inhumane practices. He was disqualified by conservative clerics from seeking reelection.

He was arrested at a rally June 12 and has been held at Tehran's Evin prison with no access to lawyers, according to Human Rights Watch officials and attorneys working for his release.

Khoini is being held because of his beliefs and his hostility to the Iranian government. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

Khoini is being denied access to a lawyer and given no opportunity to challenge his release. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

One of Khoini's lawyers, Mohammad Sharif, told the Reuters news agency in Tehran that "Khoini's wife had noticed signs of physical impact, especially on his head."

Khoini has been beaten while being detained. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

Human Rights Watch called on Khamenei to order the immediate and unconditional release of Khoini. "Iran's leaders have held Mousavi Khoini for more than 100 days without charge," according to Joe Stork, the group's deputy Middle East director. "Iran has a notorious record when it comes to getting political prisoners to 'repent' under torture," he added.

Since July 30, two prisoners incarcerated for what the Iranian government considers subversive political beliefs have died under suspicious conditions in Iranian jails, according to Human Rights Watch.

Khoini is under serious threat of death at the hands of his captors, and neither he nor his relatives would have any legal recourse to charge the Iranian government with a crime or violation of international law. AMERICA COULD DO THAT if this bill passes.

It's entirely too simple. DO YOU WANT TO BE LIKE IRAN, OR DO YOU WANT TO BE LIKE AMERICA. Your representatives need to be asked this question.