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“In the name of Allah, most merciful, most compassionate.”

"Revolutions devour their young..."

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Arrested Iranians face nightmare

The Guardian
Published: June 24, 2009, 22:47

Tehran: Most of the hundreds of protesters arrested in Iran have disappeared into a tortuous system of detention.

For the hundreds or even thousands of people seized on the streets and in their homes over the past 10 days, the real ordeal is only just beginning.

A few have already been paraded on Iranian television, implausibly claimed to be common thugs, terrorists or agents in the pay of foreign governments.

But most have simply disappeared into the Islamic republic's tortuous system of detention.

Prisoners can be held by different bodies, the judiciary, the intelligence ministry, the police or even the revolutionary guards, and might wait weeks before seeing a judge.

After student protests in 1999 until last week - the most significant anti-regime demonstrations since the revolution - more than a thousand people were thrown into prison. Some lingered there for years. Others died inside.

It is clear from the beatings meted out when protesters were arrested this week that their detention is unlikely to be comfortable.