Fear of Tehran haunts Iranian refugees in Turkey FEATURE 05/16/2010

Fear of Tehran haunts Iranian refugees in Turkey

FEATURE 05/16/2010 NEVSEHIR — Tortured in jails and threatened with death, Behzad, Siyavash and Ali have, like hundreds of dissident Iranians, found refuge in Turkey, but peace of mind is still eluding them as fear of Tehran’s agents remains a daily torment. While fellow opposition activists are preparing to hold protests in Iran at the anniversary of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election on June 12, 2009, Behzad (not his real name) leads a secluded life in a shabby flat in Nevsehir, central Turkey. “The tortures that I went through and those that I witnessed — an animal would not do that to another animal,” said the young man. His only fault, he said, was to have participated in a student protest challenging the election results last year. Showing pictures of his back scarred by bruises after a four-month stint in prison, Behzad lists the horrors to which he was subjected: beating, sexual abuse, forced insomnia, cold water dousing and the terror of standing blindfolded in what turned out to be a mock execution.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100516com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Not on your yellow life FRONTLINE Wanting to have their way again ENQUIRY Why is the random audit taking too long? BLURBAL THRUSTS Bongbong for president? TABLETS OF STONE ‘The people have spoken,’ which people? VIEWPOINTS Clerical obligation FEATURE Fear of Tehran haunts Iranian refugees in Turkey