By Banooye Sabz
April 30, 2014
Tuesday April 29th, 2014 – [Kaleme: Mehdi Sharif] – In an interview with Kaleme Zahra Mousavi, the daughter of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi confirms that her father’s condition turned for the worse on Friday when he began feeling nauseous. By Saturday, Mousavi’s condition had deteriorated significantly and on Sunday a physician was taken to his bedside; yet the detained leader was not transferred to a hospital until Tuesday April 29th when he finally underwent a coronary angiography, a procedure that according to his doctors should have taken place months ago.
The full content of Zahra Mousavi’s interview with Kaleme is as follows:
It has been reported that Mousavi was rushed to the hospital today. Do you have any news regarding this matter?
We have been aware of the fact that our father is suffering from heart problems for some time now and we also knew that our mother is not doing well. They are under so much stress and pressure. We have kept much of this to ourselves and out of the public eye. We kept telling ourselves that things will get better; that things will change. We kept hoping that the apparent changes within the Intelligence Ministry [as a result of the elections and newly elected president and cabinet] will hopefully lead to better conditions behind the walls at Akhtar prison. We are of course fully aware of the powers at play and those who benefit from the status quo. We are not the only ones aware of what is going on. Everyone is cognizant of what is going on. We nevertheless were hopeful that some bare minimum changes would occur at least with regards to our parents’ rights. Unfortunately that has not been the case. We have been aware of the deterioration of our father’s heart condition for some time now. He had not fully recovered from his last hospitalization and yet they never completed his treatment. Our parents have been hostages during this entire time and we had no choice but to remain silent so that we would be allowed to see them once in a blue moon. They literally expected us to visit them inside that cage, witness their deterioration and gradual death and remain silent!
How did you find out today? Did those responsible for their house arrest contact you?
These gentlemen think they live in a vacuum and that the news does not spread, or that only the news they wish to disseminate reaches us. The truth is that there are hundreds of people who are kind to us and act as our eyes and ears keeping us informed and in the loop. It looks as though my father has been feeling ill for quite some time now and the security agents were fully aware of his condition. He was throwing up on Friday and his condition deteriorated significantly by Saturday. On Sunday the physician recommends that he receive urgent medical attention, but the powers that be sill refused to comply. Father was finally transferred to a hospital today. We we neither informed nor allowed to be present. We are his daughters and yet we were completely in the dark about his deteriorating health over the past few days. If something drastic had happened to him on Saturday would anyone have contacted us? Would anyone have been held accountable? Certainly not. This type of tragedy has fallen upon many families in the past few years and no one has been held responsible.
You talk about your father’s deteriorating health. Do you know exactly why he was admitted to the hospital today?
We only know that my father’s health deteriorated significantly on Saturday and that he was admitted to the hospital today. His famiy was neither informed or present. He underwent a stress test at the hospital and he was reportedly not able to complete the test as a result of his failing condition. The physicians then decided to perform a coronary angiography. The procedure took place without the presence of his immediate family members. When father was unable to complete the stress test and they realized that the situation was more complicated than they had anticipated, they eventually contacted a relative (and trusted physician). Until the arrival of his trusted physician he was basically alone. Father’s trusted physician’s explanation is that he did not have access to a phone and because of father’s urgent medical condition he had to make a choice between staying with him or calling us – and given his commitment and loyalty to our father he had to make a difficult choice and was unable to inform us. It goes without saying that he too is under pressure. We have still not been able to talk to him directly, but we know that he was only able to be with our father for a very short time during the angiography. He apparently complained about the situation, but was not allowed to stay with father and was asked to leave. As you can imagine given that we are his daughters it is only natural that we want to be responsible for his health and well being. Narges, Kokab and I want to be responsible for our father’s well being so there are no excuses for the security apparatus to exert unnecessary and undue pressure on our relatives. We are the children of Mousavi and Rahnavard and we have a right to be the first to be informed of their circumstances. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that my father has no heart condition and that his heart functions like the heart of a young 20 year old. Do we not have a right to be informed if something happens to him? Do we not have a right to be beside him? What if god forbid something drastic had happened to him and the powers that be would finally get their wish granted, would it not have been our right to be next to our father during his last moments?
We are sick and tired of the status quo. We have no idea what is happening to them under house arrest and behind closed doors. We are forced to continually wait until they grant us a visitation sometimes once a week or every 10 to 15 days. In between visitations we are always in the dark. Our parents are in complete isolation. This type of house arrest and isolation does not exist anywhere else in the world. This type of house arrest is an innovation that is unique to this regime. We have no idea what they are doing to them under house arrest. We have not been kept informed of their condition. We really have no idea what has become of our parents who have endured so much pressure and pain. They have been banned from communicating with the outside world and we have been forced to remain silent. Though our parents are in good spirits, their lives are not protected. Yes they are in great spirits and they remain highly motivated and engaged – but it does not mean that they are in good health or that they are safe. My words are addressed to those responsible for their house arrest: “Do you truly believe that the way out of this house arrest is to destroy our parents? What are you going to do next? Are we to witness yet another ailment every other day?”
They have treated us without concern over the past few years. They threatened and harassed my sisters and created all sorts of problems for them. We kept so many things to ourselves and remained silent. They have now taken their hostage taking to the next level, hospitalizing our parents and performing medical procedures without the presence of their loved ones. Even the devil himself would not behave this way towards his enemies. All we want is for our people to hear our pleas. We want the people of Iran to be aware of our predicament. What is happening is a part of our nation’s history. If are hands our tied and we are unable to be at our parents’ side, let it be known that it is against our will. Let it be stated that the methods used are unjust and vindictive. Our mother and father have always lived for the people and stood with them. We would like for the Iranian nation to be aware of the journey our parents chose to embark upon and the heavy price they have had to pay.
Source: Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.com/1393/02/09/klm-183017/
Banooye Sabz
http://banouyesabz.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/zahra-mousavi-they-expected-us-to-visit-our-parents-inside-that-cage-witness-their-gradual-death-and-remain-silent/
No comments:
Post a Comment