[lbo-talk] Haleh Esfandiari Speaks to Gwen Ifill on the NewsHour

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Sat Sep 15 11:29:15 PDT 2007


[Considering all the horror and torture stories, it's nice to hear that she didn't suffer as much as we were fearing. The transcript is also interesting in other ways.]

The complete transcript is here:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec07/esfandiari

The following is excepted by the Informed Comment Global Affairs group blog:

http://icga.blogspot.com/2007/09/haleh-isfandiari-speaks-to-gwen-ifill.html

Haleh Esfandiari Speaks to Gwen Ifill on the NewsHour

Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East program at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, was released after

105 days in Evin Prison (known as "Evin University," because of the

large number of intellectuals who have graduated). She spoke last night

to Gwen Ifill of the NewsHour. Watch the video or read the transcript

here.

On why she was arrested:

To this day, I really don't know why I was arrested. But having

talked to these -- having been interrogated for almost eight months

by people from the ministry of intelligence, I can explain what they

believe in.

They believe that the United States is now entangled in Iraq and

elsewhere. Therefore, it will not contemplate a military attack on

Iran, but it is planning a Velvet Revolution. And the instruments

for this Velvet Revolution, like the Ukraine or Georgia, are

American and European foundations and think-tanks. And I think they

thought that the Wilson Center was also involved in this program.

On her treatment:

I was treated in prison with utmost respect. And I think the reason

was that I always kept a barrier between myself and the

interrogator. And I was always very polite to them. And they were,

as a result, very polite to me.

On contact with other prisoners:

I knew that Mr. [Kian] Tajbakhsh, who is still -- both are still in

prison -- was there, because one day the interrogator was carrying

five, six English books. And as my eyes lit up, and I said, "Oh,

English books." I said, "Who's are they?" And he said, "These belong

to Mr. Tajbakhsh." And I said, "Could you ask him whether I can

borrow some from him?"

So then, at night, one of the female guards -- because, in the

women's ward or quarter, we had female guards -- she brought me two

books, and this was the beginning of borrowing books from Mr.

Tajbakhsh. And on one occasion, I sent him some fruit with the

permission of the prison authorities.

On why she was released:

I think my release came mainly because the President of the Wilson

Center, Lee Hamilton, wrote a letter to the [Supreme] Leader

[Ayatollah Khamene'i]. And I have not seen the text of the letter

because it was confidential. And the Leader reacted to the letter

positively and probably ordered my release.

Posted by Barnett R. Rubin at 1:42 PM



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