The right to propaganda is one of the spoils of war. The winner has the opportunity to utilise the data they acquire from the vanquished. Exposure of abuses needs to see the light of day but it is incumbent upon the winner not to repeat them.
A bright sunny mild spring morning sees us strolling along a wide boulevard in the southern suburbs of Tehran. Bright cafes at the end of the street and the imposing facade of the Ferdowsi Grand Hotel dominates the vista. Opposite is a plain unmarked brick wall that looks as though it could be an apartment block. It’s very ordinariness is chilling and seems to be a theme for many other such secret police headquarters I have seen around the world. As we walk through the door we enter a dark, cold, evil place. This is Ebrat prison, headquarters of Savak, the last Shah’s secret police. Political prisoners were detained, tortured and either died or were sent onto the notorious Evin prison to serve the rest of their sentence.
I have seen many of these “museums” around the world. While some portray more gruesome acts of depravity none have the visual reconstructions quite as realistic as this place. The tortures start at the banal level of their activities of daily living. In esssence they were blindfolded all day apart from washing, toileting and interrogation. They were only allowed toilet breaks 3 times a day. All other excrement would have to be collected in the bowls that they would be served their meals. The realistic depiction of the brutal tortures transports my mind back to imagine the suffering at a visceral level. I am appalled but my exposure to oter such examples of man’s inhumanity does not leave me surprised, rather just deeply saddened.
I blink as I emerge into the bright sunshine and inhale the fresh warm air. I remind myself of my immense good fortune to live in a society where I and my loved ones have never had to experience such horrors. I also wonder about modern Tehran since the Shahs defeat in 1979. It is totally appropriate for the present regime to highlight and even monetise the sins of the past but there is evidence that they are complicit in the perpetuation of those sins to the present day.
