Exclusive; Atena Haj Mohammad: I Experienced the Most Unsafe Situation Possible in the 'Security Police'

Atena Haj Mohammad, daughter of political prisoner Mohsen Haj Mohammad, has recounted her experience with the 'Moral Security Police' in an exclusive piece for Voice of America. Ms. Haj Mohammad writes that on Wednesday, December 13, about three months after her father's arrest, she went to the Fifth Security Police station to retrieve all her father's belongings, including her laptop, which had been taken by agents the night her father was arrested. According to Ms. Haj Mohammad, the obstruction by the Islamic Republic's agents and their refusal to return her father's personal belongings occurred despite the investigator having issued a letter for their return. In her exclusive piece for Voice of America, she clarified that the contents of her laptop were 'only related to my studies and my field, as well as personal and family photos.' Accompanied by her mother to the Fifth Station, she noticed that her laptop was in very poor condition and without a bag or charger, to which she immediately objected. After her protest, the agents returned her father's document bag, and when she requested the return of the charger, one of the agents insulted her with 'obscene curses.' With Ms. Haj Mohammad's insistence, the agents eventually returned her laptop charger, but afterward, the same insulting agent 'attacked' her. Ms. Haj Mohammad wrote about her experience, stating that in this situation, her hands and feet were trembling and she 'unfortunately experienced the most unsafe situation in the security police.' She recalls responding to one of the agents who had also raided their home on the night of her father's arrest by saying, 'The world is a place of retribution; it keeps turning, no problem.' Ms. Haj Mohammad stated that immediately after retrieving her laptop, she was arrested without any reason, handcuffed, and after insults, threats, and additional psychological pressure, she was forced to sign four or five pages in which she confessed to 'insulting' the agents and stated that she 'has a certain illness and is under the care of a certain doctor and has a medical license number.' Islamic Republic officials, contrary to the statements of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's family and without providing any evidence, have repeatedly claimed that Mahsa's 'death' in the custody of the morality police was due to her 'underlying illness.' In contrast, critics say that the Islamic Republic, in an effort to prove this false claim, has resorted to killing hundreds of Iranian citizens, including women and children, and injuring and arresting thousands of others. Previously, Atefeh Tabesh, Mr. Haj Mohammad's niece, told Voice of America that in the court session held on Tuesday, December 4, it was stated to her uncle that he would be sentenced to two to five years in prison. She also mentioned that Mohsen Haj Mohammad has been accused of 'conspiracy and collusion, committing a crime against national security through leading a criminal group known as the People's Army with the aim of disrupting security through communications with communist elements and financing the group for sabotage purposes.' Ms. Tabesh rejected these accusations, stating that Mohsen Haj Mohammad, in his last phone call with his family last week, described how he was arrested and the 'tortures' he and his friends endured, and since then, he has been banned from making phone calls. This political prisoner stated during the phone call that they were 'beaten' by plainclothes agents during their arrest. Mohsen Haj Mohammad, along with Sajjad Bakhshali, Pouria Shakouhi Rad, Hamed Mohagheghi, Behfar Lalehzari, and Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, was arrested by the Islamic Republic's security agents in Tehran on September 17 of this year.