House Arrest; The Pain and Suffering of Mossadegh

Half a century after the historical demise of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh and the enduring image of the leader of Iran's national movement, the suffering and pain he endured during his house arrest have not received adequate reflection. The strange and horrific oppression faced by the Prime Minister of Iran's national and democratic government has been overshadowed by the patience of the patriotic politician and his record, or even the occurrence of the American-British coup. However, the reality—as Dr. Mossadegh himself explicitly emphasizes—is that he spent a hard and painful time in exile and solitude until his death (March 5, 1967) in the besieged castle of Ahmadabad. Following the coup of August 19, 1953, and after the arrest and trial of Dr. Mossadegh in a military court, and after enduring three years of solitary confinement, he was exiled to Ahmadabad in August 1955 and imprisoned in his own home. Earlier, in June 1955, Mossadegh wrote in a letter to Golshayan, the Minister of Justice, protesting the legal violations in his case: 'I have endured three years of imprisonment, and I have gained a great honor from the condemnation in this court, which I will never want to lose, and whatever happens to me afterward is based on this principle, and I accept it with complete happiness.' The Shah imposed house arrest on Mossadegh. The Prime Minister of the national government was exiled to Ahmadabad while he wrote from the prison of the 2nd Armored Division in August 1955: 'The situation of the country has reached a point where a military prosecutor can trample the law, and an innocent prisoner who has the right to defend himself [contrary to the law] cannot see his lawyers... and becomes so exhausted and weak that he [wants] to commit suicide out of compulsion.' The social ties of the leader of the national movement and his relations with friends and family were minimized. Three years after house arrest (February 1960), in a letter to his son Ahmad, thanking him for sending a book, he wrote: 'It has kept me well occupied... You do not know how badly I suffer from loneliness and not talking to anyone.' In another letter, in May 1960, Mossadegh thanked some gifts from close relatives, writing: 'In this corner of the village, if such kindnesses did not include me, life would be very difficult for me.' In December 1960, in the fourth year of house arrest, with ongoing restrictions against the cultured politician, he privately reported in a letter: 'Ask about my condition; I suffer greatly from loneliness. My situation is as you have seen, hard, and I have no contact with anyone except my children. They visit me every 15 days and leave, and with this long distance, I do not expect more than this.' On the first of Farvardin 1961, in a letter to Dr. Fatemi's sister, he explained the pain and suffering he was enduring: 'I have no right to meet anyone, and I cannot step outside the castle grounds, and I pass my time this way until I see when God will end this life. What more can I say to increase your emotions?' In July 1961, in a letter to Dr. Hassan Sadr, referring to his enlightening and critical articles, he wrote with bitterness and implicitly criticized the socio-political situation: 'Others who care for the homeland should also go this way and choose it. Anyway, there is much to say, and a listener in every sense is rare. What can be done? Perhaps God wishes to remedy this deficiency in us; we can also say we have a country and homeland and sacrifice everything for its freedom and independence.' In another letter (in October 1961), Mossadegh described his hard and 'pathetic' conditions to Dr. Saeed Fatemi: 'I cannot leave this castle and correspond with fewer people... Now more than 50 soldiers and sergeants surround me, who do not allow me to meet anyone except my children; I wish to be freed from this pathetic life as soon as possible.' The imprisoned Prime Minister, on the first of Farvardin 1962, in response to a letter from Mohammad Rahim Atai, one of the founders of the Iran Freedom Movement, reported the unfortunate situation imposed on him: 'No matter how much I talk about the hardships of my life, it is little, and there is not a day that I do not wish for death from God; since it is not destined, it does not come to me, and I am left in this secondary prison bewildered and confused.' At that time, in a letter with a similar theme, he explained the pain and suffering he was enduring: 'I have been imprisoned for nearly 9 years in the 2nd Armored Division and Ahmadabad, and no matter how much I have asked God for death, it has not been granted, and I do not know why I have survived and endured all this distress and misery.' In October 1962, Mossadegh, in a letter to Mahmoud Tafazoli, the translator of the book 'Nehru's Thoughts,' hinted at the restrictions imposed on him that were causing him distress: 'Dr. Tarachand, the Indian ambassador to Iran, wanted to visit me with honor during his visit to Tehran, but it was not approved by some. I was very saddened and depressed and continue to suffer and endure.' His confinement in the Ahmadabad castle was not much different from solitary confinement; in May 1964, Mossadegh wrote in another letter: 'I continue to spend time in the Ahmadabad castle and have no permission to leave. My recreation and stroll, whenever the weather is not cold, take place in the yard and in front of the room, and I endure an unpleasant life.' In February 1965, Dr. Mossadegh wrote to his longtime companion and Minister of Interior, Dr. Gholam Hossein Sedighi: 'I am so tired of this life that there is not a day that I do not ask God to end it. What can be done? My fate has been like this... I must burn and endure.' In another letter, in August 1966, after the death of his wife, he again told Sedighi: 'I suffer greatly from this calamity; since my dear wife lived with me for over 64 years and adapted to everything of mine, and I never wanted to go after her. It was fate that she left early, and now, besides asking God to free me from this pathetic life, I have no other choice.' The prolonged house arrest, the associated restrictions, and the loss of his wife intensified Mossadegh's suffering. In September 1966, he reported in a letter to one of his sympathizers: 'I have not been able to leave this castle for about 10 years... I am sure you have also had a hard time, but since you have not been imprisoned and no one has prevented you from meeting, and you have been free in this regard, it is very different from my life, where I live in one room and sometimes do not speak a few words during the day. This is the situation of people who have a belief and do not succumb to the whims of others.' In another letter, in December 1966, addressing a relative of Hossein Fatemi, the Foreign Minister of the national government (who was executed after the coup of August 19), he wrote: 'I wish the fate of Dr. Fatemi had befallen me, and I would not have to see this pathetic life.' In the last year of his life, in response to New Year greetings (1967), he repeatedly spoke of his 'pathetic' and arduous life, stating in one instance: 'More than 12 years in two prisons, namely in the 2nd Armored Division and now Ahmadabad, has left me with nothing, and I always ask God for death to be freed from this pathetic life and to be at ease.' In addition to 13 years of imprisonment and house arrest, and the inhumane restrictions, Mossadegh was left with no motivation or energy to complain about the adverse conditions; as he wrote in July 1967 to Maryam Firouz, a relative and a prominent member of the Tudeh Party: 'I do not report on my condition to avoid causing you distress.' Also, in November 1967, addressing Dariush Forouhar, a prominent activist of the National Front of Iran, he wrote: 'I am not well, and I do not say more to avoid causing your esteemed heart sorrow.' The pains and sufferings of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh came to an end on March 5, 1967. The Prime Minister of the national government closed his eyes to the world while the dominance of despotism over the will for change in society prevented the lifting of his house arrest—until his death, and for more than 10 years.