“You cannot kill an idea by putting a person in prison”

When I spoke to Keyvan Samimi on the telephone, he had only been free for a few hours. Samimi was arrested exactly one day after the disputed election of 2009. He was told he had been arrested to “prevent a crime being committed.” He spent six years in jail. 

Samimi, a journalist, political activist and civil rights activist, has become a symbol of resistance. Prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, he had spent 10 difficult years in prison under the Shah. After his arrest in 2009, he spent his first 120 days in prison in solitary confinement at Evin Prison. In April 2014, prison guards raided Cell Block 350, where he and other political prisoners were held, and violently attacked prisoners. The raid was widely covered in both international and domestic media. Shortly after, many of the prisoners held in Cell Block 350 were transferred to other blocks or prisons.

When I spoke with Samimi, he was polite and calm. Despite everything he has been through, he remains strong, determined and committed to his ideals. He told me he has no regrets.

 

Why did they arrest you? You did not participate in the protests the followed the election.

I was arrested exactly one day after the 2009 election. I did not have the chance to see what happened in the aftermath. The excuse I was given was: “We are sending you to jail to prevent a crime from being committed.” During this time, my rights were violated repeatedly. I was denied the right to furlough or to meet with my family. I was interrogated under harsh conditions and was insulted. But I did not doubt that my ideals and beliefs were right, even for a moment.

 

What is it like for political and ideological prisoners? What is the prison environment like?

Look, prison has its own peculiar characteristics. In the narrow and constricted space within those walls, savory and unsavory relations emerge among individuals. I do not believe these things happen, or should happen, outside of prison. The morale was overall quite good in prison. But these days, the level of idealism and dedication is lower than what existed under the Shah. Today people do not meet the standards of political beings. We are less inclined to think of ourselves as political prisoners now.  We are more likely to think of ourselves as people who adhere to strong principles. We political and ideological prisoners fit less into the framework and definition of political prisoners than we did in the past. Of course, this is not limited to prisons. Society itself is also becoming more...fanciful [Laughs]. There’s a negative aspect to it. We must take more serious steps towards shaping ideals, morals and adherence to the principles of democracy and civil society, and we must teach people how we can get there. In any case, the situation inside prisons now is not in any way comparable to that of the 1980s.

 

Do you mean that the general atmosphere has moved further away from idealistic values?

Exactly. I am an idealist and I see that idealism has declined. We must be careful not to confuse idealism with ideology. But after the decline of leftist ideologies and the fall of the Soviet Union, which was the symbol of leftist ideologies, and the arrival of a unipolar world, idealism has practically disappeared.

 

Can you give an example?

Yes. Just today, on my first day of freedom, when looking over newspaper stands, I saw a photograph of Bijan Jazani [a Marxist-Leninist militant leader who was executed under the Shah] described as a “terrorist” on a magazine cover. This promotes a kind of anachronism and retrofits history. People do not look at things within the context of their time and place. Yes, at that time the [Marxist] People's Fadaei Guerrillas and People’s Mojahedin might have engaged in armed activities, but armed action cannot be reduced to terrorism.

When we say “terrorism,” a young person of today immediately thinks of Al Qaeda and Islamic State and their barbaric conduct. I don’t want to defend the conduct of those groups or the killing of people, but is not fair to present that environment as completely devoid of humanistic and idealistic values. And I can see clearly that this decline of idealism has somehow spread to the whole of society — and has even infused the atmosphere inside prisons. I do know that the standing and the make-up of political prisoners is not as it was 40 years ago. But personally, I do not believe that you can get anywhere by radical actions anymore. I believe in calm and continuous activities to retrieve the missing link of democracy, which is the same as rebuilding civil society.

 

Do you think that the prison atmosphere has changed since last year’s brutal attack on prisoners in Cell Block 350?

More opened up, and of course, it is more comfortable now. Because I experienced prison under the previous government, my mind is always busy comparing the two governments unconsciously, whether I want to or not.

 

Have you ever regretted the road you chose and wish that you could have spent your retirement being happy with your family?

It depends on how you define “happiness”. It is natural that all human beings want a better and happier life. But if your ideals go beyond personal comfort and embrace freedom and human rights and are not limited to yourself and your family, this attachment and idealism is so deep and beautiful that it does not lose its appeal with the highs and lows of historical and political waves that come along every 10, 20 or 30 years and then go away again. These days, individualism has taken root in society, perhaps as a counterpoint to leftist thought. But I believe that a philosophical worldview is social and takes into account collective rights.

 

Then you view collective ideals as more robust than individual ideals?

If your ideal is achieving the rights of men, it cannot be washed away by political waves. You are in love, in love with humanity, and it is not an ideal that changes inside you with the changing of governments. A faithful person remains true to these ideals, pays the price and suffers the hardships. When such a worldview takes hold of you and you believe that the meaning of life is the happiness of all human beings, you do your best not to fall away from this source of beauty, even though you have to pay the price.

 

Do you think that the other side has achieved what it wanted by imposing long prison sentences?

No. So many long prison sentences for intellectuals and reformists in society has not fulfilled the expectations of the governing establishment. You cannot kill an idea by putting a person in prison. These individuals are gradually being freed after their prison terms. No power has been able to stop or impair the process of people’s move towards demanding democracy.

 

Are you religious?

As an individual, yes, I am religious and have metaphysical beliefs, although in my social conduct I am secular and have defended secularism for years. But believing in a world beyond the physical world convinces you to see existence as eternal, even your own individuality. Then hanging on to a limited life or having a good time for 50, 60 or 80 years and holding on to 10 or 20 family members loses its importance. I never regret my past. It is a road that I love and enjoy. Of course I don’t see my ideals and being next to my family as mutually exclusive.

 

But it must be difficult when circumstances do not allow you to have both.

It is difficult and hard. At some point, you have to make a decision. I remember 20 or 30 years ago, I was at such a moment of decision. My wife told me,“Now you have two children and you must think about them, too.” And I answered: “Yes, my dear, but I have two million other children as well.” Anyhow, it was a strange stew, but it was delicious.

 

After so many problems, don’t you want to leave Iran?

My interrogator — who could well be my son — used every tactic to make me retreat. When he did not get what he wanted, he suggested I stop my activities. “We will get you a visa and make it easy for you to emigrate. You can go anywhere you want and live there.” But as you can see, I stayed, served my sentence and I am still here.

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