Victim of the Brutal Regime of Iran Continues to Suffer in Turkey

The Divine Just State magazine received a report from Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan in which he briefly accounted his ordeals since believing in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. Mohammed is an Iranian national forced to flee his country for holding on to a belief deemed unacceptable by the religious authorities. We take this opportunity to share his story in his own words.

“I seek refuge in God from Satan, the accursed. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon you. 

My name is Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan. I am from Shiraz, Iran. Date of birth: May 5, 1980. 

Around the year 2017, I became acquainted with the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light through one of my friends, and after research, I embraced it. After that, the Islamic Republic created severe problems for me. At first, they began threatening me through Telegram, saying that they would arrest me and that I must stop my activities, otherwise I would face dangerous consequences. 

Before that, several members of our religion had already been arrested, including Mohammadreza Shakerian. Because we believed in our religion and it is one of our religious duties to promote it, we lived under very difficult conditions, constantly being threatened and living in fear. They repeatedly threatened us on social media with arrest, torture, imprisonment, and execution. 

In Iran, anyone who leaves Islam is considered an infidel, and their blood is considered permissible (halal). After many threats and arrests of members of our religion, and realizing that I could no longer practice my faith in Iran, because I was being threatened daily, I decided to leave the country. I took steps to leave, but at Imam Khomeini Airport, after purchasing a ticket, paying the fees, and passing through inspection, my name was called over the loudspeaker. Security officers came and told me that I was banned from leaving the country. They confiscated my passport and did not return it. They gave me an unstamped letter stating that I had to go to the Special Clerical Court in Tehran to resolve my case. 

Unstamped letter of appointment to Special Clerical Court in Tehran

Knowing what awaited me based on previous arrests, after a few days I attempted to escape Iran with some fellow believers.

Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan attempting to escape Iran

However, while we were still inside Iran, near the city of Khoy, we were attacked. They treated us as if we were ISIS terrorists, opened fire on our car, arrested us, and in the freezing midnight air held us in an ambush post and tortured us. We were kept in extreme cold and treated very badly, and afterward we were transferred to a detention center in Khoy.

There, we were interrogated daily, threatened, shouted at, and accused without any evidence. They told us we were infidels and spies for Israel. After two days in detention, while continuing to threaten us, they loaded all of us - including women and children - into a van. We were blindfolded, shackled, and handcuffed, thrown into the van, piled on top of each other, and transferred to Tehran.

On the way, intelligence agents - who called themselves the “unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Time” - severely beat two of our friends, even though their hands were tied. One of them, Mohammadreza Shakerian, protested their behavior. They slammed his head against the metal frame of the vehicle, threw him to the ground while chained, and beat him so severely that he lost consciousness. 

Women and children were screaming, but they paid no attention and continued shouting at all of us. After that, we were handed over to Evin Prison, which belongs to the Ministry of Intelligence, where we were severely tortured. They punched me in the head until I lost consciousness. The atmosphere was filled with fear and terror. All that could be heard were the screams and cries of prisoners and the terrifying shouts of guards. We were subjected to both physical and psychological torture. We were kept blindfolded, facing a wall in the cold, beaten, insulted, humiliated, and mocked. 

I was taken for interrogation about twelve times. Their main method was lying and threatening. When I insisted on my right to have a lawyer, they mocked me and said such things only exist in movies, and that I had no right to a lawyer. They did not respect my legal rights as stated in their own criminal procedure laws. I was held in Evin Prison for two months. We were arrested on December 12, 2022, kept in detention for two days, and then transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran. They constantly intimidated and threatened us. 

Due to the chaotic situation in Iran at the time, especially the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death and the hijab issue, many people were arrested and brought there. The prison was extremely crowded, and torture was widespread. Before entering prison, detainees had been severely beaten in houses. Some of those in my cell could not walk for up to a month. Electric shock devices were used on their genitals, backs, and entire bodies repeatedly. Their condition was unimaginable. On the last day of interrogation, the interrogator whispered in my ear: “Do whatever you want in private - have illicit relationships, drink alcohol - but no one should find out. Just never oppose our government and abandon your beliefs.” They pressured and tortured me and forced me to sign a document stating that my beliefs were misguided and that I repented. This showed their hypocrisy. 

Because of the overcrowding, they temporarily released prisoners on bail until their cases could be processed later. I was also released on bail on February 12, 2023. However, I was in a very poor condition. My right hand had become partially paralyzed due to torture, and I had to undergo physiotherapy for a month. 

Before my release, they threatened me, saying they would monitor me closely and that if I continued my activities, they would destroy my life and possibly kill me. Due to the extremely dangerous conditions and constant fear, on March 6, 2023, I was forced to leave my wife and three beloved children behind without support and flee through the mountains and wilderness of Iran. After enduring great hardship and crossing deadly valleys and mountains covered with several meters of snow, I finally managed to leave Iran and enter Turkey on March 18, 2023. 

Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan holding a walking stick

The picture on the left is me with the walking stick in my hand. I had fled through the impassable snowy mountains of Iran into Turkey. The bruising under my left eye is still visible. While crossing the border, a smuggler attacked me with a stick, and I fell on a rock, which caused my eyebrow to split open and led to the bruising around my eye.

Unfortunately, since Turkey is also an Islamic country, it does not accept my beliefs. I decided to go with fellow believers - who had also fled from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Palestine, and Azerbaijan - to the official Turkey/Bulgaria border to enter Bulgaria, a European country where our religion is officially recognized as a religious organization and minority in the EU, USA, and the UK. However, Turkey did not allow us to leave. We were beaten and transferred to the Edirne Removal Center for deportation. 

Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan attempting to enter Bulgaria

I was held there for five months, from 24/05/2023 to 06/10/2023, and I was subjected to severe psychological and physical pressure. Before entering the deportation center, some of us, myself included, were taken to a police station where we were detained and beaten daily, fists, kicks, and batons were all used, we were also subjected to abusive language. They accused us of causing unrest in their country. At the Kapıkule border, due to the election period and shortage of security forces, they reportedly encouraged truck drivers to help suppress us, some made horrific threats about violence against our women.

At the border, I was punched in the eye, I still suffer from vision problems, seeing floating objects in my sight. On another day, they beat me so severely that four of my teeth were broken. My other teeth were also badly damaged and I had to undergo surgery to remove the broken teeth. I currently have no upper teeth, and my lower teeth are also in poor condition.

At the police station, after beating us, they took us to a doctor and forced us to say we had no problems. The doctor was cooperating with them. When we initially said we had injuries, they threatened to keep beating us until our death. Out of fear, we were forced to say we were fine. 

I do not know if you are aware of the conditions in detention camps in Turkey. Although they are called camps, they are more like dungeons - terrifying and inhumane. Guards constantly shout at and beat detainees. The drinking water is dirty and discolored, they only change it temporarily when inspections occur. I became ill there, suffered from digestive problems, and lost about 10 kilograms due to the poor quality of food. Now my situation is extremely critical. 

My family is left behind in Iran without support, and I am in a country where we are treated worse than animals. Even animals have safety in the streets, but we are detained, tortured, and imprisoned simply because of our beliefs. After being released from the camp, it has now been over a year that we have been scattered across different cities. The cost of living here is very high, I have a severe back injury and cannot work. Life here is extremely difficult. 

Mohammad Hashem Bazrafshan's son, Hussein

Here is a picture of one of my children, Hussein, whom I haven't seen for more than three or four years and I don't know what happened to them.”

The harrowing stories of the persecuted believers in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light continue to expose the tyranny of the oppressive governments of the so-called Muslim countries like Iran and Turkey. This magazine will persevere to make these stories public and to bring to light all the crimes committed by these regimes in order to hold them to account for their violations.