It is not easy to answer questions such as “Can repentance turn into a torturer?” because repentance, before anything else, is a result of torture and psychological and emotional pressures on the body and soul of the captive. Human resistance to threats, torture, and punishment also varies; some people are resistant to the violence of torturers while others are weak. For this reason, one cannot judge or condemn a person’s repentance.

Some of the repenters make a commitment to the government not to fight against the ruling system anymore. Some of these groups, after being released, start fighting against the government again. Another group of repenters are those who cooperate with the government and become spies and torturers. With this description, we cannot place all the repenters in a common position and describe and condemn them all from one perspective. Indeed, a person who has been released from prison with a commitment, has not betrayed anyone and has not cooperated with the government, is different from someone who has clearly and openly become a repentant-torturer and spy for the government, and their human and social positions must be distinguished.

The main goal of the torturer is to break the prisoner. A government that deprives people of their freedom and divides citizens into “us” and “them” cannot accept that an individual or group can challenge its authority. On the other hand, as a human being, the prisoner does not want to be humiliated, tortured, insulted, or harassed. In this oppressor-oppressed dichotomy, we should not blame the oppressed; anyone can break under torture or repent. The main culprit is the government that trains torturers to preserve its own survival.

It is very important to note that after the victory of the February 1979 revolution, many people, using the open political space, joined various political organizations, from the left to the nationalist, with the majority being young and inexperienced. However, after Ayatollah Khomeini’s order to ban party activities, widespread suppression began. Based on this concept, in the 1990s, Assadollah Lajevardi, in confrontation with political prisoners, forced them to express “remorse” for their political approach. Lajevardi put political prisoners under so much pressure and torture that they were forced to reconsider their political views. Since some of the prisoners did not have religious beliefs, as long as they did not comply with Islamic laws, their “repentance” was not accepted. Of course, the madness of the torturers did not end there. In the memories of many released prisoners of the 1990s, it is mentioned that “a repentant person had

This issue created severe psychological pressure on prisoners, which in some cases led to insanity. However, many of them were not willing to give up their ideals and beliefs, and these fighters remained steadfast in their “position”. There were no shortage of political prisoners who did not bow down and were executed. Until the executions of 1967, this style of oppression was a normal routine in prisons.

This process continued in the 1970s, but its form had changed. Many well-known political activists, in addition to repentance, were forced to make televised confessions. This act is considered another form of the dirty politics of “rehabilitation”. They had to sit in front of the camera and confess their previous thoughts and actions with regret. Only then would they receive a reduced punishment or conditional amnesty. However, most repentants, after their release and arrival in a safe zone, would declare that those confessions or statements were made under torture and only to escape suffering. Nowadays, the public opinion does not accept this method and almost everyone knows that these confessions and expressions of regret are a way to save one’s life.

It can be said with certainty that the only refuge and last line of defense for a human being is their “body”; meaning their physical form. This body, with its unique physical, personal, and psychological characteristics, protects the individual from others and the outside world, and is commonly referred to as the “self”, keeping them safe from harm. The physical and bodily existence of an individual encompasses their personal history, struggles, victories, loves, failures, and is filled with conscious and unconscious emotions and feelings. Only the individual possesses this body and can make sense of it, and no one else has access to it unless the individual allows it. Torture is a process in which this private field is invaded without the ability to defend oneself. This method becomes a systematic political torture when it is calculated, conscious, intentional, and accompanied by other forms of violence, sadism, and sexual abuse in public. What is even more painful is that this violence, aggression, and abuse are accompanied by a sense

After enduring these tortures, the tortured person experiences injuries that are completely fresh and for them, they are excruciating, sometimes shameful, unacceptable, incomprehensible, and filthy. It doesn’t matter if it is physical or psychological torture, as these are inseparable. Because white or mental tortures leave long-lasting effects, wounds, and scars that are sometimes impossible to accept easily.

A tortured person, in response to the tortures they have experienced, shows various reactions. These behaviors often manifest as feelings of guilt, remorse, anger, uncontrollable rage, self-destructive tendencies, hyperactivity, nightmares, crying, memory problems, impaired logical thinking, personality disorders, insomnia or sleeping too much, loss of appetite, withdrawal, suspicion of others, respiratory problems, urinary problems, sexual problems, chronic headaches, apathy towards life and depression, reliving traumatic memories, anxiety, feelings of insecurity, family problems and separation/divorce, turning to alcohol, depression, and sometimes even suicide attempts.

In Evin and Qezelhesar prisons, even looking at or smiling at another prisoner – which are signs of creating social connections – was heavily controlled. In order to disrupt the mental organization of the prisoner, the torturer or interrogator deliberately provided false and incorrect information and news to the prisoner, and even fake magazines and newspapers were made available to them. For example, by stating issues such as “your spouse is asking for a divorce”, “your mother has told us everything”, “your sister is currently in prison”, or “your leaders have revealed everything by eating their first meal”, they tried to break the logical relationship between the prisoner and the outside world and break their last resistance.

With these tricks, the torturer not only attacks the prisoner’s body, but also tries to confuse the prisoner’s mind and prevent logical and continuous thinking. As a result, the tortured person, considering their age, experiences, and knowledge, tries to minimize the effects of torture and essentially starts a psychological game with the torturer. Ultimately, they try to manipulate the torturer and use their weaknesses to minimize the impact of torture on themselves.

After the victory of the 1357 Revolution, there was an opportunity to expose the Savak and their torturers and methods to the general public. The opportunity to visit “Evin Prison” was provided to witness the horrific torture methods. In one of the special torture rooms in Evin Prison, electrical devices were hung one meter away from the walls. Prisoners were tied to the walls and electric wires were connected to their bodies. There were even tools like the “guillotine” for cutting off fingers. The torturers would tie the prisoner’s hand under the guillotine and slowly cut off their fingers to force them to confess. Another room was known as the “candle room”. In this room, the prisoner’s body was burned with candles to force them or their friends to confess.

But our society, especially its political forces, did not protest against the executions of the Islamic Republic. If in the first weeks, these executions were limited to some military and political officials of the Pahlavi regime, it did not take long for Khomeini to establish desert courts throughout Iran. In those days, if revolutionaries suspected someone and believed they were against the government, without trial, without defense, and without a defense lawyer, they would simply condemn them with a few minutes of questioning and execute them in front of the people. It did not take long for the newly established Islamic government to use the Savak forces. At the same time as suppressing the people’s revolution, desert courts were under the control of Khomeini. These types of courts were established all over Iran, especially in Kurdistan and Turkmen Sahra, and so on. The security institutions of the Islamic Republic, in addition to the experience of Savak – which was formed in Iran with the help of Mossad

The massacre of prisoners in the 1980s, especially the massacre and execution of political prisoners in 1988, was so widespread that even today the question remains: What kind of person was Khomeini that he ruthlessly ordered the slaughter of a generation of political activists during the revolution? Was he the one who openly promoted and normalized state terrorism in the world?

After the revolution in February 1979, Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, in order to confront the opponents of the newly established government, had said: “If you want to dry up the roots of the hypocrites and opposing groups, you must use those who have a complete understanding of their beliefs.” For this purpose, he and his colleagues tried to use former prisoners to confront political and ideological prisoners. It seems that the reason for the recent arrest of Mohseni Ejei and his “repentance” from the detainees of the recent protests may have its roots in this attitude towards the “prisoners of the Shah era”.

Asadollah Lajvardi was one of the former prisoners during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was imprisoned for his involvement in the assassination of Hassan Ali Mansour, one of the prime ministers during the Shah’s reign. He also had connections with anti-Shah communists. After the revolution, he was chosen to become the prosecutor of Evin prison. Asadollah Lajvardi’s duty was to implement the policy of retribution and suppression of political and ideological prisoners, especially the Mujahedin-e Khalq. During that time, members of various political organizations were tortured in prisons, particularly in Evin prison, under the management of Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts, Asadollah Lajvardi, the prosecutor at the time, and Haj Davood.

They would put the coffins in the patrol cars of the Revolutionary Guards and the prosecutor’s office and drive them around the streets to introduce them to those they knew. In this way, the term “repentance” was used by torturers to refer to someone who would cooperate with prison guards against their former comrades, even though they themselves had been tortured, oppressed, and humiliated. But over time, they had become interrogators and torturers themselves, and now it was their duty to force others to accept a fate like their own. From then on, repentance was carried out in the form of interrogators, torturers, or spies against prisoners.

In one of the few films that leaked from inside interrogation rooms during the history of the Islamic Republic, there is a naked example of what exists within. In the interrogation session of “Fahimeh Deri Nogourani”, the wife of Saeed Emami, the interrogator addresses her saying, “Today you are fulfilling the right of the Quran, you say you did these things, God forgive me, help me to repent, or else we will continue the torture, it will be hard…”

This path does not always pass through prison and the “door of repentance” is also open outside of prison. It is possible that the pressure lever for artists, athletes, journalists, and well-known individuals in various fields, through threats and intimidation, may result in their deprivation of work, prohibition from being photographed, permanent or temporary deprivation of continuing their profession, and similar circumstances.

However, the coffins were not only for Iranian political prisoners. During the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, some of the Iraqi prisoners of war, under pressure and torture and the policy of repentance, retreated from their positions and “expressed regret”. Many of these prisoners of war remained in Iran forever and continued their lives with a new identity. Some of them, due to their proficiency in the Arabic language, were employed in security forces and used to suppress the Arab people in the Khuzestan province. Some of them, in a group called “Coffin Brigade” – which Masoud Dehnamaki has referred to as 15,000 people – participated in the war again, this time against Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The Sheiban prison ward was under the direct supervision of Gholamnejad. In this prison, the inmates were required to participate in group prayers three times a day. Interrogators would come twice a week to the prison cinema and ask them to talk about the political prisoners. Usually, they would entice them with promises of sentence reductions or consideration for amnesty, but there was no news of any sentence reductions.

Recently, the judicial power of the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced the guidelines for “confirming the repentance of criminals”, in which “practical commitment to performing religious duties” and “expressing remorse and written commitment” are among the examples of repentance mentioned. This guideline is a reminder of the project of rehabilitating political and ideological prisoners by the Islamic Republic in the 1990s. At the same time as the announcement of the “repentance confirmation” guidelines, Gholamali Mohammadi, the head of the prison organization, announced the creation of systems for “intelligent registration” of prisoners’ behavior in order to “benefit from their legal rights”. He said that the activities and participation of prisoners in various reform and educational programs will be recorded in a system called “Dena” and their benefits from legal rights will be based on the points recorded in the system.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, announced the “Repentance Verification” guidelines in 9 articles to all courts across the country on Tuesday, July 12 of this year and said: “The responsibility for its proper implementation lies with the Attorney General of the country.” The guidelines state: “Repentance is a psychological state that involves an individual’s attention and return to God after committing a criminal act, in such a way that the offender becomes aware of the ugliness of their behavior, feels remorse, and is determined to reform and make amends for their actions in the future.” Another section of the guidelines states: “If the accused claims repentance at any stage of the judicial process or after being convicted, they can submit a request along with evidence to the judicial authority.” Article 5 of these guidelines mentions cases that constitute “validity of repentance” such as “fulfillment of religious duties”, “expression of remorse

The forced “repentance” of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic, under the pressure and systematic mental and physical torture, dates back to the early 1990s. This later became known as the “policy of rehabilitation” in the Islamic Republic. The government forced political prisoners to “convert to Islam,” renounce their beliefs, declare loyalty to the government, make televised confessions against themselves and their colleagues, participate in espionage, interrogation, and even torture their fellow inmates.

In early June of last year, Vida Rabani, a journalist who was also a prisoner, reported in a letter about the torture of female prisoners in Garchak prison in order to obtain “forced confessions” and “repentance”. She also mentioned that Yalda Aghafazli was also killed by the government using the same methods. Yalda Aghafazli was a 19-year-old protester who was arrested during the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising and on November 20, 2020, five days after her release from Garchak prison in Varamin, she died under suspicious circumstances. In this letter, Rabani wrote about the “anxiety, pressure, fear, and traumatic experiences” that female prisoners in Ward 8 of Garchak are facing due to the torture.

The Human Rights Watch organization announced earlier this year that security forces of the Islamic Republic have subjected detainees during the Mahsa uprising in 2022 and 2023 to sexual assault, torture, and abuse. According to the organization, these actions are part of a widespread pattern of serious human rights violations by the Islamic Republic in order to suppress opposition. Previously, in December 2023, Amnesty International published a 120-page report documenting the abuse of citizens by members of the Revolutionary Guard, Basij, Ministry of Intelligence, and various police departments during nationwide protests, and shared testimonies from some of the victims. According to this report, which was based on statements from 45 detained protesters, including women, men, and children between the ages of 12 and 48, the goal of the violence and torture was to “break the protesters from within and silence them.”

Previously, in the month of Dey in 1397 (2018), Ismail Bakhshi, a worker at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane, revealed his experience of torture which led to the breaking of his bones. This revelation caused other individuals to launch a campaign called “I was also tortured” on social media and share their experiences of being tortured in prisons of the Islamic Republic, including for the purpose of “expressing regret.”

International forgiveness, the decision of the leader of the Islamic Republic in the matter of general amnesty for protesters, was seen as an attempt to alleviate international pressure and protests. The French newspaper “La Croix” also published articles in its February 24, 2023 issue stating that the public amnesty announced by Ali Khamenei includes forced confessions of recent detainees and a hidden mechanism for their repentance. La Croix wrote: “All those who are eligible for the leader’s amnesty must express their regret and remorse for participating in street protests against the Islamic government and seek forgiveness from the Islamic government by signing letters.”

Dara Talooei, a 22-year-old student living in Rasht who was arrested and imprisoned at the beginning of street protests, has told a French newspaper: “Many of the detained youth, like him, have been acquitted by revolutionary courts after enduring imprisonment and torture in the past months. However, in order to be released from prison, all of them had to express remorse and ask for forgiveness from the Islamic government in writing.” According to the young student living in Rasht, in this letter of remorse, individuals must commit to supporting the Islamic system and remaining loyal to its leader, Ali Khamenei, as long as they are alive. According to Dara Talooei, in this letter of remorse, individuals must confess that they have been influenced by “opposition media propaganda” and have participated in “criminal acts” during the street protests, and at the same time accept that if they participate in protests again, they will face even harsher punishments.

Can repentance be a punishment?

In response to the question of whether repentance can turn into a torturer, we can now clearly answer: “Yes” it is possible and there are also examples.

The fear and terror of the 1960s was different from today. This systematic terror caused some of the activists of the 1960s to become involved in the structure of the Islamic government of Iran. Some of the political prisoners during the time of the Shah were turned into professional and merciless torturers in the Islamic Republic. Some of them were employed in prisons or the Ministry of Intelligence, and despite their many services and actions against their former comrades, they were eventually re-sentenced and even executed after a short period of time. Here are a few examples of the activists who were melted into the government and became executioners:

One of the political prisoners during the Pahlavi era was “Mohammad Kachoui”, who was appointed as the head of Evin prison at the age of 29. Mohammad, son of Ramadan, was born in Hajjiabad area of Qom in August 1950 and stayed in Hajjiabad until the end of first grade. After that, he moved to Tehran with his family and studied until sixth grade. Due to his family’s poor economic situation, he dropped out of school and became an apprentice at a journalism workshop in the grand bazaar of Tehran. Mohammad’s frequent visits to the grand bazaar led to his acquaintance with Mohammad Bakhshayeshi, a member of the Fedaian-e Islam organization, and his intellectual and spiritual connection with the ideas of Seyyed Mojtaba Navvab Safavi, and he joined the Islamic United Party. He later joined the Ansar al-Hussein group in Tehran and became a follower of Seyy

In 1973, Mohammad was released from prison on the condition that he would cease all political activities. However, after his release, he continued his political activities and fought against the Shah’s government. Due to his underground political activities, connections with revolutionary fighters, transmission of messages from Ayatollah Khomeini, and purchasing weapons for anti-government revolutionaries, he was arrested by SAVAK agents and sentenced to life imprisonment. This sentence did not last long, as under pressure from the United Nations Human Rights Commission for the release of political prisoners, he was granted amnesty at the age of 27 on June 17, 1977. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the formation of the Committee to Welcome Ayatollah Khomeini, he was appointed as the head of the 10th district’s welcoming committee in Tehran. Soon after, he became the head of security at the Rafa School, where Ayatollah Khomeini stayed for a few days during the early

After Asadollah Lajevardi, the prosecutor of the central revolution, accepted the position due to his success in handling the charges against members of the Faraqan group, Mohammad Kachouyi, at the age of 29, was appointed as the first warden of Evin prison upon his recommendation. In this position, he played a determining role in the trials of members of political organizations and repentant prisoners. Kachouyi, who himself had been a political prisoner in the prisons of the Pahlavi government a few years earlier, had now become a professional interrogator and torturer, to the extent that these actions led to him being called “Father of Repenters.” This method was also followed among his fellow thinkers and after his death, it became the foundation for widespread repentance. Mohammad Kachouyi was appointed as the warden of Evin prison in Tir 1358 and took over the management of the prison for more than two years.

Abdullah Shahbazi is a professor of political science and historical research. He was one of the prisoners of the regime and for a decade, he managed the Institute of Political Studies and Research, affiliated with the Ministry of Information of the Islamic Republic. Abdullah Shahbazi was born in 1334 in the city of Shiraz. His father, Habibullah Shahbazi, was the leader of the Kuhmareh Sorkhi tribes and one of the landowners who rebelled against the Pahlavi regime during the land reforms in 1342 and was executed. Shahbazi was influenced by Mohammad Ali Amouyi, Abbas Hajari, and Taghi Kimanesh and became a member of the Tudeh Party while in prison. After his release from prison in 1354, he joined the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran. From then until the victory of the 1979 Revolution, Shahbazi formed a secret group called “P

Buttocks.

Given all the points mentioned in this article, it can be concluded that many governments, using justifications such as national interests, decrees and religious laws, fight against their citizens through torture, overthrow conspiracies, or counterterrorism measures. Some do so secretly and limitedly, while others, like the Islamic Republic, openly and extensively use religion as a justification for systematically torturing their citizens. Torture, in any form, is inhumane and barbaric. The psychological effects of torture on an individual are long-lasting and destructive, and it may take years of therapy, psychoanalysis, psychological treatment, and rehabilitation to restore the tortured person to normal life. The families of tortured individuals also need care, clinical services, and psychological-social support. Undoubtedly, no one becomes a torturer, murderer, or criminal by nature, but it is the society and the ruling power that assign them these roles.

According to definitions, “tawba” was a policy that was implemented in the prisons of the 1960s by interrogators and prison managers. In this process, after enduring various tortures, the prisoner would “repent” for their past actions. They were also forced to deny their past and even participate in the torture and execution of their former friends and colleagues. They were also required to participate in televised confessions, give speeches and create files, and express “repentance” and regret for their past to their comrades or former colleagues.

The decade of the 1990s, is the bloodiest decade in the history of the Islamic Republic. The project of “Towhidi” was implemented, and prisoners were forced to repent under the most severe tortures and give in to tasks that they had not only not done, but also the psychological damages of which are still with them after four decades.

It has been four and a half decades that physical and psychological tortures have been inflicted upon political, ideological, and social detainees and prisoners by the Islamic government. Many prisoners have been forced to “confess” under brutal tortures. Numerous prisoners have lost their lives under torture in various detention centers and prisons throughout Iran. Even after their release, many of them suffer from physical and psychological damages and may have to be under medical care and treatment for the rest of their lives.

The 45-year history of Iran is filled with the names of political activists, writers, intellectuals, student and civil activists who were forced to repent. Among them, in most cases, if a person was able to be released from prison and no longer faced threats or pressure, they would announce the forced nature of their repentance and discredit its validity.

Torture victims in the prisons of the Islamic Republic have no recourse. In such a situation, analyses, articles, books, speeches, films, and most importantly, the testimony of victims about the crimes committed, are important steps towards ending this inhumane policy. Using all media resources, including websites and social networks, we must expose the torture inflicted on prisoners.