Witness Statement of Reza Parchizadeh

Name:                                      Reza Parchizadeh

Place of Birth:                         Tehran, Iran

Date of Birth:                           1980

Occupation:                             Writer, Researcher and Political Activist

Interviewing Organization:   Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC)

Date of Interview:                    September 27, 2015

Interviewer:                             IHRDC Staff

This statement was prepared pursuant to an interview with Mr., Reza Parchizadeh. It was approved by Mr. Reza Parchizadeh on February 19, 2020. There are 12 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.

Statement

Introduction

1. In 1999 I was studying towards an associate degree in electronic engineering at the Tehran Institute of Technology No. 2, also known as Shamsipour Technical College. The school is located at Vanak Square. At that point I was involved in political and cultural activities at my college and elsewhere.

Student Protests of July 1999

2. I learned about what had happened at the University of Tehran on July 10, 1999. I went to the University of Tehran starting on July 11 [to take part in the protests]. After the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader spoke against the university students, arrests and attacks against students [by security forces] started. On July 22, 1999, I was arrested by security forces at Enqelab Avenue. I was handcuffed, blindfolded and placed in a van. I was taken to police headquarters on Shahpour Avenue. The detention facility was very crowded because of the large number of arrests.

3. The police were acting in an offensive and violent manner at the Shahpour Avenue detention facility. During the days I was held there I witnessed the police officers’ insults and disrespectful behavior towards the detainees. Occasionally they resorted to physical violence as well. They detained me for a week or two. They interrogated me a number of times during this period. These interrogations involved threats and beatings. As I indicated earlier, the detention facility was very crowded and there was no order or accountability. During the three or four times I was interrogated, I was asked about any ties or cooperation with foreign individuals, institutions and government, particularly the United States and Israel. I did not make a confession because I was not working for anyone or anywhere. I was an independent protester. I was eventually released after a week or two after giving them a pledge.[1]

Expulsion from University

4. I was barred from enrolling in college in at the fall of 1999. This had a profoundly negative impact on me psychologically, and it drove me to keep my distance from educational and political environments. Instead, I worked for two years. I had very clearly grasped that what reformists said were nothing but meaningless slogans.

Return to University

5. After a two-year absence from academic institutions, I changed my field of study to humanities. Since I had attended a technical high school, I enrolled at a nightly pre-college humanities program. Them, I took the national university entrance examination, and I was admitted to University of Tehran’s undergraduate English literature program. During my academic studies I intentionally stayed away from political activities. I could say that I engaged in self-censorship. Instead, I focused on cultural activities. I started to work on history of epistemology, history of thought, translation of Persian poetry into English, and similar topics.

6. I was ranked third nationally in the master’s programs’ entrance examination, and I was admitted to the University of Tehran again. In addition to my studies, I continued my cultural activities. For instance, I was the editor of the school’s comparative literature journal. I was also involved in helping the university host its international conferences. At that period, I was offered to engage in a number of unethical endeavors, which I refused. One was working for the Faculty of American Studies, with later became the Faculty of World Studies. That was, in reality, a state-run institution to produce anti-Western discourses.

7. Towards the end of my master’s program, before defending my thesis, I took the entrance exam for the University of Tehran’s doctorate program. The entrance exam had a general and specialized portion. I was never given the results of these two exams. I concentrated on finishing my thesis and defending it. I received 20 out of 20 in my thesis defense. My thesis was on the history of philosophical and political thought in Iran and the UK.

2009 Protests

8. The 2009 protests coincided precisely with the fourth semester of my master’s program, during which I was writing my thesis. My participation in the protests was a factor in denying me admission to the doctorate program, because when they announced the results of the exam for admission to the doctorate program at the end of summer, my name was not among them. Most of my classmates, however, had been accepted into the doctorate program. At that time one of my professors, who was also a friend, privately told me that I had been rejected because of my political background. I was very disheartened by this.

9. During the 2009 protests, I used to get calls on my cell phone. [The callers] asked me not to participate in the protests, and not to forget that I had a record and had given a pledge. My analysis was that the protests would be brutally crushed when the reformists would back down. Given that analysis, I did not participate in the protests after the first week.

Leaving Iran

10. In 2008 I published my poetry book with the assistance of an independent publisher. This book was the product of a decade of my poetry in English. A few months after its publication and distribution, the publisher called me and told me that he had been contacted by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and told that he should stop distributing my book.

11. In 2010, subsequent to events mentioned above, I decided to leave the country. I was admitted to the Örebro University’s media studies and communication program, and I went to Sweden. In 2012, I was admitted to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Ph.D. program, and I went to the United States. I am living in the United States since then. I have obtained my Ph.D. with honors. I married after finishing my studies. I continue to independently engage in political and cultural activities, as well as research.

Cultural and Media Mafia and Lack of Coverage for Independent Voices

12. Unfortunately, I have witnessed a lot of tribal behavior in the political and cultural arenas. So much so that if I am not a member of the mafia-like gangs and do not write on topics that they see fit, they will not publish my works or cover my activities. Unfortunately, this gang-like behavior is common among both the Islamic Republic and a wide range of its opposition. This has led to less coverage of independent voices. My hope is to break this silence and expand the democratic discourse in Iran and across the world.

[1] Iranian authorities often condition the release of detainees on them making written pledges that they will not engage in protests or other illegal activities in the future.