After June 5th 1963, “Islamic Councils Coalition” began its military activity. By this new policy in February 1965, Hassan-Ali Mansour[2], the prime minister who approved the Capitulation Bill[3] was assassinated by four brave young men named: Mohammad Bukhara’i, Sadegh Amani, Morteza Niknezhad, and Reza Saffar Harandi. Instantly all four were arrested and after short time were sentenced to death and executed. Then arresting “Islamic Councils Coalition” members started. My brother who was a pioneer of Coalition was arrested and put in prison.
We were not aware in which prison he was kept. We referred to different places such as SAVAK and prisons to get some news about him. SAVAK offices were hidden and unknown to public and I had real problem in finding them. Once I was arrested and interrogated by SAVAK.
They wanted to know how I had been able to find their places. I explained that I had asked the taxi driver to show me the offices of SAVAK and apparently, they believed me. I asked them about my brother’s destiny but they did not answer me clearly and freed me after an hour.
Like us the other family members of Islamic Councils Coalition members were looking for their prisoners and it took us some time to know that they were kept in Eshratabad Prison (today’s Vali-asr Garrison).
[1] Mehdi Ahmad was born in 1932 in Tehran. He is elder brother of Ahmad. He is among the pioneers of “Islamic Councils Coalition” as a member of Amin-ud-dowleh Mosque in Darvazeh bazaar. When he was arrested and interrogated by SAVAK, they considered him 2nd rank members of Coalition. He was in Qezel Qal’eh Prison for 57 days and 67 days in scary prison of Eshratabad. He along with some other of his friends attempted hunger strike and finally was moved to Qasr Prison and then freed on August 12th 1965.
Mehdi Ahmad who was a blacksmith in 17th Shahrivar Street, free and far from SAVAK limitations, continued his activities and in 1973 was announce wanted by SAVAK after the conflict of Vahid Lahooti. Then he ran away and moved to Mashhad and lived and worked there with the nickname “Haj Ali Taraghi”. In 1977 SAVAK identified and arrested him and tortures seriously. However, not finding any important information he was freed after few months.
[2] Hassan Ali Mansour, son of Rajab Ali Mansour Mansour-ul-molk, was born in 1923 in Tehran. He was an anglophile that later found American identity. He had BA in law from Tehran University. He was father was suspicious of being freemason. His progress was due to his father’s services to the Pahlavis. In 1961 when he was a parliament member, he founded Kanoon-e Taraghi (Progress Center) by the advices of Americans. Later this center expanded and changed to “Iran Novin Party” and followed his goals. When Alam government was defeated by Islamic Movement in March 1964, he was chosen as prime minister and passed Capitulation Bill for the American subjects in Majlis in October 1964. He was assassinated by Islamic Councils Coalition members in February 1965 right in front of National Assembly.
[3] A capitulation is a treaty or unilateral contract by which a sovereign state relinquishes jurisdiction within its borders over the subjects of a foreign state. As a result, the foreign subjects are immune, for most civil and criminal purposes, from actions by courts and other governmental institutions in the state that makes the capitulation.
Passing this bill made Iranian people and clergy angry. Imam Khomeini said: “In the name of God, the compassionate the merciful. We are from God and will be back to him. I cannot present my heart sorrow; my heart is depressed … our nation is lower than American dogs! If an Iranian kills an American dog, he or she would be interrogated. If Iran’s king kills an American dog, he would be interrogated and if an American chief kills Iran’s king, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah, or any other high-ranking man, no Iranian can interrogate him… Why?!....”
(Imam Khomeini’s speech on 26th October 1964, Sahifeh Noor, Vol. 1, pages 139-140)
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