During early days of my arrest, I could not find the reason behind uncovering INP; later I found it in prison.
Mr. Mohammad BaqerSenobari, a new INP member, was so enthusiastic in expanding the party and was so active. In a mission in the city, he had asked an individual to swear for the activity in the party; but that person would not appear for the meeting. Senobari who had waited till night darkness would go to a monastery in order to save his time. He remains there till late that night and when coming out of there, the police agents became suspicious to him quite accidentally and after some chase and flee he is arrested. He had a bag containing papers of INP manifest and journal. Mr. Senobari would throw the bag somewhere in a garden or a house, but the agents find the bag soon after a short search. They take Senobari to a police station. They become suspected to the papers inside the bag. Then the police intelligence enters the story. The tortures begin on the young member of INP. He defiantly resists the tortures. His answer to all questions was “It’s concealed.” Finally, the agents succeed in finding out his higher rank official, Mr. Mir Mohammad Sadeghi.[1] He is identified and after few hours he is also captured. Through him they would also find Mr. Seyyed Mahmoodi Tabataba’i.[2]
The police intelligence officers severely torture Mr. Tabataba’i to reach the higher ranks; but he defiantly resists and disappoints them. By giving wrong names and addresses he would delay in SAVAK’s attempt in reaching to the needed information. Once, he gives them the information about an unreal rendezvous in Tehran University. The agents take him with themselves there to identify the would-be-coming person to the rendezvous. But nothing happens after a long time of waiting. The agents being aware of being hoaxed torture him so hard. At last, he succeeds in putting delay in SAVAK’s search for some days and based on INP trainings he knew that other members would have understood that the party had been revealed and they would have evacuated the party’s office; so, he gives them the address of the party’s headquarters.[3] Unfortunately, when the agents and Mr. Seyyed Mahmoodi reach there, surprisingly they see Hassan Hamed Azizi[4] with packages of party’s papers and documents. After the arrest and tortures, Azizi would reveal all the codes of INP for the police. This is the beginning of arresting procedure of all other INP members.
The leader and some INP member would escape to Shahabad Mountains. The agents chase them and find their shelter and attacked them at night and after some resist, they could arrest all of them except two, the late Nasser Naraghi and Mohammad Mowlavi Arabshahi.[5] Mr. Mowlavi could run away by passing through the mountains. But Mr. Naraghi who was a young teacher is arrested few days later by the Military Police. The other INP members were arrested at their work or houses.
[1] Mr. Senoubari writes in part of his memoirs: “… Thursday night, October 12th 1965, I put some INP training pamphlets and documents including the party’s manifest and Khalq Monthly in my bag. I needed them for two trusted brothers. They were about to swear for faithfulness to INP… about 2 or 3 hours after midnight I came out of monastery … I reached near to Reza Shah’s mausoleum and there, two police agents spotted me. They asked questions and I answered. They asked what was in my bag. I said there were my books and papers. They took my bag to check what was inside it. I was coolly watching them and thinking about what was my responsibility then? If they see INP documents inside my bag and be aware of INP what I had to do…
I thought for some moments. I was committed not to let anyone be aware of those journals and documents… the only way that I could think of was grabbing the bag in the air and run away. I did it and escaped. They followed me while shouting. Two people coming toward me in front heard the order of “Stop him!” The assumed they had seen a criminal and closed my way and attacked me. I could run away with alacrity and threw the bag with all my strength on top of a nearby building in order to lose it or at least keep it away from their access for short time… I continued running toward the gardens and farms but the agents reached me and arrested me… after a search they found the bag in that building…they took me to the police station and beat and insulted me severely in the basement of that police station to make me confess, but I only said: “It’s concealed!”
Later the friends of Mr. Mohammad Baqer Senoubari called him “The Party Discoverer” humorously and his famous sentence of “It’s is concealed!” was a humor among them in prison and later in their talks.
[2] The late Seyyed Mohammad Mahmoodi Qumi Tabataba’i, son of the clergy Haj Mustafa Tabataba’i was a good believer and because membership in INP central committee after hard tortures and passing courts was sentenced to life imprisonment and after 14 years he was freed after the victory of Islamic Revolution along with Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Bojnourdi and Abulghassem Sarhadizadeh. When freed, he served his land sincerely. He never accepted official posts. He only worked in a cooperative to serve the poor. He finally died in 1988 when only being 44 years old.
[3] INP headquarters was in Rey Avenue, Saffari Street.
[4] Hassan Hamedi Azizi was INP secretary. When he was arrested he revealed all the codes and documents of INP for the police. He was weak man and was affected by INP leader. He was a calm person who would avoid involvement in other affairs. When he was freed he did not show any interest in political affairs and continued his ordinary life.
[5] Seyyed Mohammad Ali Mowlavi Arabshahi was born in Tehran in 1941. His father, Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Sabzevari was an instructor in Tehran University, Islamic Teachings Faculty. In 1963 he became an INP central committee member and because of political activities could not continue his studies in Electronics Engineering in Tehran University. After INP revelation, he escaped to Iraq and then went to Lebanon and Syria for some time and finally went to Egypt. In 1979 he returned to Iran and in 1983 got married. He was one of founders of Grand Islamic Encyclopedia who died after a long sickness in April 16th 2006. Sharq Newspaper, No. 737, 1385/1/29, p. 20.
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