March 27, 2011

23rd, 2011, Daneshjoo News – Behnoud Ramezani, a second term student at Nooshiravani University of Technology in Babol, was killed on the night of the Iranian Fire Festival at the hands of basij forces in Tehran. The body of this martyred student was eventually delivered to his family two days after his death, under the condition that he be buried outside of Tehran. The two initial forensic reports described the cause of death as “multiple blows to the head by a hard object”. The “final” cause of death, however, was announced as a result of “explosion of a hand grenade”. Security forces banned any burial ceremonies for Behnoud Ramezani in Tehran, so this martyred student born in 1992, was finally buried on Friday, March 18th, in his native village of Gharakhil in the province of Ghaem Shahr. The following interview was given to Daneshjoo News by one of Ramezani’s close friends who was with him at the time of his death:

Can you please provide us with background information on Behnoud?

Behnoud was born in the village of Gharakhil in the province of Ghaem Shahr. Due to an employment opportunity for his mother, she and Behnoud moved to Dubai when he was in forth grade. He lived in Dubai until his second year in high school and became fluent both in Arabic and English. His family then moved back to Tehran and Behnoud enrolled at Dr. Shariyati High School in Tehran, Pars, the neighborhood where he also lived. After high school, Behnoud enrolled at non-profit community college named “Salam”. At that time, Behnoud studied from morning til night and kept saying, “I’ll study for an entire year. I’ll bear the hardship now and all will be well when I [get accepted to] the university.” However, something strange happened when he took his university entrance exams. I would have sworn that he could have ranked amongst the top 1000 or less in the entry exams, but his watch wasn’t working; it was apparently slow on the day of the entrance exams, and as a result, he was forced to skip the physics tests although he was strong at physics. In the end, he ranked 3300th and was accepted at the Mechanics Faculty at Nooshiravan University of Technology in Babol. He chose this university because most of his relatives went there. Behnoud’s family is very religious. I know his father, and although he is religious, he by no means supports this government.

Please explain Behnoud’s beliefs if you will.

We both believed that everything should be based on humanity. Neither of us were particularly religious. In our discussions, we came to the conclusion that we want behave like decent human beings without harming anyone [in our actions]. Whenever we had discussions, we came to the conclusion that in this country we will never be able to do the things we like. There will always be obstacles and problems. There are always people who won’t allow us to live how we like to live. All in all, it is impossible to do anything here. Our thought was to study for four years and then leave the country. Behnoud and I had differing political views. Behnoud was completely against the current ruling government.  He always watched the programs on satellite, even though I personally disliked some of these programs. There were times when we had lots of discussions. For example, we would argue every day for two weeks in a row.  We would discuss how we should change this corrupt regime. We would talk about how lives would have to be sacrificed. My friend and I would explain that we were not willing to die for this cause. We wondered whether people would stand by us and follow in our path if we paid such a price. What if we paved the way and the people did not follow? Behnoud did not agree with our analysis and would say: “You may be right, but in the end lives have to be sacrificed, there has to be bloodshed…”.

What were Behnoud’s thoughts on the Green Movement and the events that occurred after the elections? Did he participate in the post-election demonstrations?

We argued a lot regarding this issue. We weren’t really preoccupied with Mir Hossein Mousavi and the others. We were completely against the ruling government. Our hearts were 100% with the people of Iran. Behnoud wanted to attend all the demonstrations, but my friend and I wouldn’t allow him to attend. He wanted for all of us to participate in the demonstrations together, because we were all supportive of the people’s movement. Until Qods Day and Ashura, Behnood kept insisting that we attend the demonstrations. I kept saying, “Let it go my brother. They are going to kill everyone.” At first, they [authorities] were not as brutal, but later anyone who showed up [in demonstrations] was named a “Mohareb” (enemy of God), arrested without a trial, and killed.

Can you explain what happened to Behnoud during the Iranian Fire Festival?

A few days before the Iranian Fire Festival, we organized material and built a few hand grenades. After the Fire Festival, we went to the 22nd Square in Narmak where a number of our friends live. We had put the hand grenades in our car. We were going to wait and see — if the time was right, and others were using hand grenades, we had planned to use ours too.

What was the security atmosphere like at that square? Did you witness any demonstrations or people chanting slogans?

The security atmosphere in Tehran was undoubtedly tense. At around 4:00pm, when we left Iran Pars Square, you could see security agents every step of the way. We later went to Narmak, because that neighborhood has approximately 150 to 200 squares and even if they placed 10 agents at every square they would need to deploy tons of agents. In any event, there were lots of motorcycle-riding security agents watching the neighborhood. We didn’t witness any particular political protests in the square. We had no intention of holding political rallies, not because we were against the idea of protesting, but rather because we saw our Iranian Fire Festival as a night for happiness, celebrations, and festivities.

At around 6:00pm, a number of motorcycle-riding agents filled the square. Those in front were fully equipped Basij’s, followed by special security forces who were covered in gear and also well equipped. We all ran away and about fifteen minutes later, we returned to the square.  At around 8:00pm, the security agents once again attacked the square. The 22nd Square was very busy. There were approximately 40-50 of us young men in the square. Later on in the night, when the crowd dispersed and Behnoud and I were standing with a few others in the middle of the square, we noticed that a group of motorcycle-riding agents had entered the main street. They revved their motorcycles and drove towards us causing us to flee. After a few seconds, I turned around and saw a boy with a short beard running away. At first I didn’t think he was a Basij, but then I heard a women at the end of the street shouting: “They have killed someone! The Basij’s have attacked and killed someone!” Initially, I had no idea that it was Behnoud she was talking about. I saw two of the neighborhood boys running after the Basij who had jumped into a White Samand with the license plate “44-Iran-246S61″ and had fled the scene.

Was the boy you saw a Basij? What was he wearing?

Yes, I’m sure he was a Basij. I don’t recall exactly what he was wearing, but I think he was in plain clothes. When someone has been killed, no one runs away. If anything, people come to see what has happened so that they can help. Unless you have killed someone, you don’t run away. Behnoud had not moved even 10 steps from his location. A few of our friends who had witnessed what happened, explained that they first hit Behnoud from afar with an electric shocker (I must say that I am sure of this fact) and later Behnoud slipped. When I went to stand above him, I saw that Behnoud’s body and face were black and bruised. He had not even shed a drop of blood. Reports by certain sites saying that his body was cut up in pieces are completely false! His pants were burning and looked like coal, so we took his pants off. His jacket was completely ripped. We then called an ambulance.

Why were his pants burning? Did he have a hand grenade in a pant pocket?

I don’t know why his pants were burning, but I am sure of one thing, there was no hand grenade in his pant pocket. Maybe I might have done something like that, because I’m stubborn, but Behnoud was smarter than that. He would never do something like that. These small hand grenades generally don’t cause much harm, let alone kill anyone. Once in the past, one exploded in front of Behnoud, resulting in his face being covered with smoke.

What happened to the special security forces?

I first ran after the Basij. When I returned, I no longer saw any other security forces. Those who were present, said that they had all ran away. In general, the basij and the special security forces are together.

What did they do with Behnoud’s body?

I saw Behnoud’s body. Later the forensic experts confirmed the details in their report. The bone in his right thigh was crushed. One of his testes had exploded. His right or left hand was broken. His neck was broken, but an injury to the spinal cord does not lead to death. The cause of his death was the heavy blows to his head. It is unclear what caused the head trauma that led to the rupturing of an artery in his brain and cerebral hemorrhaging. He was taken to the Alghadir hospital by ambulance where he was declared dead.

What is your last word? What are your expectations of the authorities in Iran and the international community?

Let me clearly state that those responsible in Iran will do nothing.  They are happy with things as they stand; both those in high positions of power and those who are in the lower ranks who know they could do something but don’t want to create headaches for themselves. The citizens are left holding the short end of the stick with no one to turn too. What can you expect of the likes of Hashemi Rafsanjani who first stepped forward, but then retreated and instead engaged in flattery? I have absolutely no expectations of the authorities. When it comes to the international community, I really don’t know what to say. They just talk, but we see no action. They keep publishing resolutions that only lead to someone like Ahmadinejad to laugh at us. These resolutions only increase the pressure on us and not on the likes of Ahmadinejad. Let them understand that by publishing resolutions, the price of gas only goes up for us. Our life becomes more difficult. They, on the other hand, are unscathed. I had better not embark on discussing this issue, as it will take me until tomorrow. I feel sorry for the international community because all they seem to do is talk.

Thank you for providing us with your time.

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