The Interrogrations at Seppah Prison

          
          UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
          Found: http://www.adressformona.org/storyofmona/storyofmona2.htm
          On the Process of Interrogation
          THE INTERROGATIONS AT SEPPAH PRISON
          Each Baha'i arrested is subjected to a four-stage interrogation process that leads either to
          release or execution. The first stage consists of a series of formal interrogations by an
          Islamic judge appointed by the Public Prosecutor.
          These take place inside the prison. The interrogations, which last for many hours, are
          usually held with a number of the prisoners present, although some are also held with
          each prisoner alone. The revolutionary guards are usually masked and the prisoners
          blind-folded, and made to sit facing a wall. At each stage the victim is verbally abused,
          asked the same questions over and over again, and often asked to write down the answers
          since the majority of the revolutionary guards and many of the interrogating judges are
          illiterate, while their Baha'i victims are often well-educated, the interrogators demand to
          know the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the Baha'is in a given city,
          then in all of Iran, then around the world. 10 At each stage the prisoner is asked to deny
          their Baha'i beliefs and become a Muslim.
          The next stage is an interrogation at the Islamic Revolutionary Court,
          which is carried out by the Assistant to the Public Prosecutor. This interrogation may also
          take many hours, but is normally completed in one day. The final interrogation takes
          place in front of an Islamic Revolutionary Judge, and usually lasts only a short time,
          sometimes less than an hour.
          After the three interrogation stages, there is no set time before a “sentence” is handed
          down. It can take weeks, months or longer. In all interrogations and before any Baha'i is
          executed, however, he or she is given numerous opportunities, usually under great
          physical and mental anguish, to recant.