1. It was the eleventh of Ordibehesht month. It was the first of May, International Workers’ Day. I had gone to cover the gathering of workers from the bus company’s union. It was close to noon and the crowd was growing by the minute. There were some citizens, families of workers, and students. A young man in the middle was busy taking photos and videos, with long hair and a thick beard. Friends were coming and going, and special forces were arriving. Under the command of Ghodratollah Mahmoudi, the commander of the attacking forces at the gathering on March 8th, they were stationed in front of the city theater. People were dispersing and now the number of plainclothes individuals was increasing every moment. Some of them were circling around a tall young man and dragging him towards one of the pencil-pointed Peugeots. The young man was struggling to get closer to the crowd. They beat him and used bat

They take us towards the Niloufar police station. The interrogation and familiar accusations of Ibrahim Maddi, who is calmly and methodically talking about his social rights. They take the young man, whose clothes are now all torn, to the adjacent room and a little later, his brother comes in. Shortly after, the door opens and a soldier comes out, takes the handcuffs off the table and goes back inside. Ibrahim Maddi reaches the point of his conversation where he says: “A few nights ago, Mr. Dari Najafabadi was talking on TV. He said: We hope that the police force will treat people kindly.” Ten minutes later, they bring the young man out of the room and he has no choice but to walk.

I woke up from a peaceful sleep for a few hours in the police security detention center, and he came and sat next to me to talk. I found out his name was Keyvan Rafiei. Later, after my release, I found out he was the secretary of the human rights activists in Iran. He also found out after his release that I was the secretary of the human rights reporters committee in Iran. Spring of 85.

2. I saw Kian a couple of times in a cafe and with mutual friends until he was arrested and imprisoned, and left Iran. We had a close working relationship and he would sometimes read my blog. Despite this, I would follow Harana through my work connections. Harana was one of the most important sources for documenting human rights violations in Iran, alongside the Committee of Reporters in various periods. Both of our news outlets started as blogs and eventually evolved into websites after months. Like any other group, the human rights activists have had their ups and downs over the years. From the difficulties of working together in the Iranian space to pressures, threats, and security crackdowns. Many members of the group were arrested in the fall and winter of 2009 and sentenced to long prison terms. The peaceful exercise of defending human rights has never been without cost. In the midst of all this, we must not forget Kian’s efforts in maintaining the group’s work order and expanding its human

“من در حال حاضر در حال تحصیل در دانشگاه هستم”

“I am currently studying at university.”

Occasional and periodic statistical reports of the collection