Mohsen Mirdamadi

Mohsen Mirdamadi

Mohsen Mirdamadi (* 1955 ) is an Iranian politician and journalist , general secretary of the participation front of Islamic Iran , former member of the Iranian parliament , former governor of Khorasan province and was involved as a student in the organization of the hostage-taking of Tehran .

Life

Mohsen Mirdamadi studied mechanical engineering in Tehran .

Tehran hostage-taking

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 he was one of the leaders of the students who stormed the American embassy in Tehran and then held the Americans there for 444 days. In an interview he said:

“There were about 400 of us who took part in the operation. I was part of the leadership council. When the US allowed the Shah to enter America for medical reasons, we were convinced they were plotting against us. So, we wanted to send a message. We intended to detain the diplomats for a few days, maybe one week, but no more. After we took over the embassy, ​​Iranians from all over the city streamed into the area and chanted anti-American slogans. The events took on a life of their own. When the Imam [Khomeini] blessed the takeover, there was no turning back. "

“We were about 400 who participated in the operation. I was part of the leadership council. When the US allowed the Shah to enter America on medical grounds, we were convinced that they were planning something against us. So we wanted to send them a message. We intended to arrest the diplomats for a few days, maybe a week, but no more. After we took over the embassy, ​​Iranians poured into the area from all over the city shouting anti-American slogans. The events took on a life of their own. When the Imam [Khomeini] approved the takeover, there was no turning back. "

Reform movement

In 2000, Mirdamadi ran for a seat in parliament as a reformer. He advocated freedom and the restoration of the rule of law. In the elections he easily got a seat in parliament. He was chairman of the Committee on Internal Security and Foreign Affairs. During his tenure, he was editor-in-chief of Norouz , the country's largest reform newspaper, and proposed the opening of talks between Iranian and US parliamentarians. In 2002 the newspaper was banned and Mirdamadi was sentenced to six months in prison and a four year ban on journalism. Defamation, insult and coup attempts were the official reasons for his punishment and the ban on the newspaper. He told an American journalist about his political views:

“We always wanted a country that had independence, freedoms, and was an Islamic republic ... But today our emphasis is on freedoms ... The future now depends on what the people want, not what a few politicians or religious leaders prefer. Leaders in all ruling classes should be checked by the people .... there are - and should be - many different interpretations of Islam. And the people have the right to listen to those different interpretations ... No one has the right to impose his ideas on everyone else. "

“We always wanted a country that had independence and freedoms and was an Islamic Republic ... But today our focus is on freedoms ... The future now depends on what the people want, not what some politicians or religious leaders want to prefer. Leaders in all ruling classes should be tried by the people ... There are - and should be - many different interpretations of Islam. And people have the right to listen to the different interpretations ... Nobody has the right to impose their ideas on anyone else. "

In December 2003, while giving a speech at Yazd University, he was beaten by Hezbollah supporters and had to be taken to hospital. In the 2004 parliamentary elections , Mirdamadi was excluded from the election along with over 3,500 other candidates, including 83 mandate holders from the Guardian Council . In 2006 he was elected General Secretary of the Participatory Front of Islamic Iran, the largest reformist party in Iran .

On June 14, 2009, following the 2009 Iranian presidential election , Mirdamadi was arrested for no reason.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Afshin Molavi: Iran: an afternoon with a hostage-taker. (No longer available online.) November 10, 2005, archived from the original on May 30, 2009 ; accessed on February 6, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Bill Berkeley and Nahid Siamdoust: Letter from Tehran. The Hostage-takers' Second Act. Young Radicals Who Took Over the American Embassy Twenty-Five Years Ago Are Still at the Fulcrum of Iran's History - as Journalists , Columbia Journalism Review, Volume: 43 Edition: 4 Page: 42 (9) (English)
3. ↑ Iran bans reformist newspaper. July 24, 2002, accessed February 6, 2009 . 
4. ↑ Robin Wright: Sacred Rage , Simon and Schuster 2001, p. 286 (English)
5. ↑ Jim Muir: Iran Report. In: www.globalsecurity.org. December 15, 2003, accessed on February 6, 2009 (English, volume: 6, edition: 48). 
6. ↑ Focus online arrested more than 100 opposition members on June 14, 2009

literature

• Bill Berkeley and Nahid Siamdoust: Letter from Tehran. The Hostage-takers' Second Act. Young Radicals Who Took Over the American Embassy Twenty-Five Years Ago Are Still at the Fulcrum of Iran's History - as Journalists , Columbia Journalism Review, Volume: 43 Edition: 4 Page: 42 (9) (English)