Witness Statement of Bita

Name:                                      Bita*

Place of Birth:                         Tehran, Iran

Date of Birth:                          1988

Occupation:                             University Student

Interviewing Organization:   Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC)

Date of Interview:                   October 25, 2019

Interviewer:                             IHRDC Staff

This statement was prepared pursuant to an interview with Bita. It was approved by Bita on January 30, 2020. There are 13 paragraphs in the statement.

The views and opinions of the witness expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

*Pseudonym assigned to protect the identity of the witness.

Statement

Introduction

1. I was born in 1988 in Tehran. I was threatened with acid attacks and publication of my private pictures.

Assault and Harassment

2. He was my boyfriend. We were supposed to get married. We had known each other for two months [when] his abusive behavior toward me started. The insults and beatings began. When I no longer wanted to be with him, he started to threaten me in order to have me and persuade me to be with him in any way that he could. I gave in to his threats for several months. I would accept anything he said. I continued a relationship that was supposed to end in two months for an additional eight months just because I gave in to his threats.

3. The relationship started in January 2018 and continued through late February 2018. When I [told him that I] did not want him, he left. But in June 2018 he started his threats. I was continuously being threatened until February 2019, and I would give in. In the three months that he had left he thought that [the relationship] would be back on again and he could return to me. But [when] he saw that I insisted that I did not want [him] he started his threats.

4. He threatened that he would kidnap and rape me. He threatened that he would pour acid on me, publish my private pictures, and injure me with a knife. He used to bring aluminum phosphide[1] tablets and tell me that I should ingest them in front of him. He told me that I had to commit suicide. He would say that I either had to be his or I had to kill myself. “Come on, take this tablet and kill yourself, or you must become my wife.” I did not want to become his wife but when I saw that he brought the tablets I would say, “Ok, I will become your wife whenever you say. Just say when.”

5. I did not have sexual relations with him at all. His only demand was to marry me, and for me to love him. When I wanted to calm him down, I had to say, “I love you. I like you very much, and everyone knows this.” Then he would say, “If you really like me, announce it in online.” Then he would force me to put a post on my Instagram page, and I did it to calm him down. When I did these things he would calm down. He did not have sexual demands.

Complaint

6. I was so [emotionally] weak that filing a complaint had become a colossal task for me. I did not have the power to file a complaint. I was afraid of him. I thought that he was stalking me everywhere. On the day that I went to file a complaint I thought that I was doing something monumental. But it was not like I went to file a complaint straight away. [First] I started to call safe houses. There are some hotlines that provide assistance to persons suffering from domestic violence. I called those hotlines. They did not do anything. They would only say, “Well, ma’am, just file a complaint. Why are you even answering him? Don’t answer him.” They did not understand what situation I was in at all. And they were social workers and counselors. Their help was of no use to me. My mom told me that she would not let me be in a relationship with him. With my mom’s help, I filed a complaint.

Reaction of Judiciary and Police

7. The first place we went to was the [Tehran] District Seven [Public and Revolutionary] Prosecutor’s Office. The man who was sitting there saw how much pressure I was under. Nevertheless, he said, “Your complaint has no merit. So far no acid has been poured on your face. I tell a thousand people that I want to kill them every day. Are they going to file a complaint alleging that I want to kill them? You can go [home] and return whenever he poured acid [on you]. Your face is still healthy.” He wanted to dissuade me from filing a complaint. He was in charge of the [Tehran] District Seven [Public and Revolutionary] Prosecutor’s Office. He kicked me out of [his] room.

8. I could not go back to the way things were before and try to calm down [my boyfriend] so that he would not hurt me. Nor were [the authorities] helping me. I saw down in the Prosecutor’s Office, thinking that my boyfriend would definitely find me. The least he could do was to pour acid [on my face]. Or he could kill me. The secretary [of the person in charge of the Prosecutor’s Office] felt sorry for me and let me in again. I was able to open a case file. This was in February 2019.

[1] Aluminum phosphide, a highly toxic pesticide, is often used in Iran for committing suicide.