Iranian woman dissident Fariba Marzban, who spent eight years in prison in Tehran, including 31 months in solitary confinement, says in an exclusive interview to Shyam Bhatia of asianaffairs that her country is on fire as people come out on the streets demanding change. London-based Marzban, a writer by profession, is of the view that the rigged presidential election was the last straw for people worried about the economy and lack of free speech.

AA: Could you give us a sense of what is really going on in Iran?

FM: In Iran I believe there is a serious crisis because of the election result. As everyone knows, the Iranian people would change this result, but the government decided to change peoples' votes and that was making problem for people because they want a different policy, a different government and a different system. The government should leave it to the people to choose their president. That's the problem at the moment because this president is not the choice of the people. I live in London but I listen to what's happening in Iran. That is my country and there are a lot of people there on the street speaking, shouting out against the government. I can say that Iran at the moment is on fire.

AA: Does the government action against the demonstrators bring back memories of earlier and similar crackdowns?

FM: Yes, I can remember clearly what happened in 1979 when the Shah left the country and the people kicked him out because of the Iranian revolution. But Ayatollah Khomeini and the other Ayatollahs, they have stolen the revolution. Freedom was the main thing we need and we have shouted for that just after the revolution. As a result, some of the great patriots and seekers for liberty were executed, although innocent; some survived but were forced to leave their country and live in exile, constantly longing to return to their homeland. They live a simple life, no longer worrying about wealth or official positions. Instead they worry about those who are still behind bars, some waiting for execution, some spending years and years in solitary confinement. I hope now that something good emerges for the people, so that after 30 years change comes to Iran.

AA: What was your personal experience after the revolution? You went to prison didn't you?

FM: That right. I have lots of experience of different prisons in Iran. Just after the 1979 revolution in Iran, when I was 18 years old, I was a political activist, but the Islamic government wouldn't accept different parties and different groups — only the Islamic ones. I was arrested nine times in different situations. I was arrested at my work, arrested on the street, arrested during demonstrations. One of the arrests was on July 24th 1981, a crucial day that could change my life. I was severely tortured and no one knew whether I was still alive. It was about one year after I was first imprisoned that they let me meet my mother. She was extremely worried about me. They put me in solitary confinement. As I said, the government was involved in the torture and killing of lots of people. One of the prisons specialised in solitary confinement in Gohar-dasht and the government picked out around 130 women, young women I would say, to solitary. We stayed in solitary for two or three years. Some of us suffered a mental problem. One of their punishments was the coffin torture where we were put in front of a wall for hours on end without speaking. The cell itself was like a coffin, quite dark and no facility to shower or bathroom. I was given a plastic glass, one spoon, one dish, that's it. No clothes for change, no shower, nothing at all. For six months I couldn't take any shower. You know what I am saying. As I said it was quite dark, no light, no windows and without proper food. I had lost 18 kilograms.

AA: How did you get out of Iran?

FM: It was in 2001 that I managed to get out with the support of people. I put a lot of money there, but when I came out I forgot the money. I was thinking about myself, not thinking about money, not thinking about the future. Actually, it was with the help of one of the representatives of the assistant of Ayatollah Khomeini. He was a most important person and he agreed to review the cases of those in prison. Then he came to visit us one by one, he talked to us face-face and he talked to me three times. Then, when he realised I wasn't a terrorist but believed in free speech, he decided to help me and lots of prisoners to come out. Khomeini himself was alive at the time. If he was not there, I would be dead because lots of other Ayatollahs have changed the rules. Before, when Khomeini was alive, they stopped killing women prisoners — now they have started again. It was in that time when they stopped killing women that I got the chance to get out with the help of financial guarantees. First I was sent out of Tehran, and then because of my medical condition I was allowed back into Tehran where I got better and better.

AA: Do you still have friends and family in Iran?

FM: Yes, I can say all my family is in Iran. I try to contact them. Sometimes it is impossible but sometimes I manage.
AA: Will Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, do everything in his power to suppress this popular uprising?
FM: As he has said already, he will not change his mind. He says he will give his life for the revolution and I hope so. I have waited 30 years for this. I hope he does give his life, it will be good for the people. But it will not happen, he is trying to shoot people, trying to keep people quiet. He does not want change, he does not want to change the system with him as the Supreme Leader. I don't believe in his politics. He has to go.

AA: What is your impression about the numbers of people involved in defying the
government?

FM: It's a huge number of people in Iran and abroad who are working in opposition to the government and the system. It's not just Tehran where people are demonstrating, we are also looking at Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahwaz, Tabriz, Baluchistan, Ardabil — lots of cities. Around the country lots of people are agitators, they are angry with the system. When there is a dictatorship, there is no choice for the people. Because of the Muslim politics, because of the Ayatollahs, lots of things have become unacceptable. The election is the last straw because the election was seen by the people as the last chance to make a change. They also worry about the economy, they worry about having a free voice, about having free speech. There is no democracy. How long can people stay quiet without speaking, without any action?

AA: You are saying the election outcome is only one of the many things that troubles people?

FM: It's one of the main things. People have many other issues. For example people do not want war, but the government pushes people towards war. For example the Palestinian war, or between Iran and Iraq and Lebanon as well. This is not what people want. They want to live normal, quiet lives like other people in other countries, studying, working, going on holidays. In other words a normal life.

AA: Is democracy in your country incompatible with the Islamic system of government?

FM: You know I have no specialist knowledge about this. I personally and privately don't accept that the Islamic people should come into power and rule. But it's up to the people, it's the peoples' choice. It's not my choice. We have had a difficult experience with the Muslim system, its enough. We need a democracy where people choose something different. We had a different experience under the Shah before the revolution. May be after the revolution people thought they needed a Muslim system, I don't know. What we need now is to work with the people and spend time talking to them, sit with them. As for me, I prefer a secular option

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