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I am a criminal, please forgive me! The following is a translation conducted by MPG contributor Ebi Zaman of an article by Nima Rashedan.
1. Six years ago, I, Nima Rashedan, praised in one of the reformist publications Ayatollah Khomeini's style of ruling. Now, I announce clearly and loudly that I consider myself a "criminal". I apologize to you, millions of Iranians who each in some way are victims of Khomeini and his followers' atrocities. I apologize and hope you forgive me so at least I can sleep at nights. Alas, I AM a criminal because I did defend, even if only once, one of the greatest criminals of our time, Ruhollah Khomeini. And secondly, like many of the Islamic Republic's journalists and politicians, I sought to justify and or vindicate "Khomeini's crimes against humanity". I am a criminal because once and only once I defended Khomeini. Defending Khomeini means supporting his policies and I, like Mir Hossein Moussavi and Akbar Mohtashami have endorsed the Fatwa on Salman Rushdie's life. That means I AM a criminal. It means I have defended the events of the somber 60's: rape, torture and executions. I defended Khomeini, meaning I supported sending millions of untrained young men to the slaughter houses of west and south (Iran) only to continue the senseless war. I defended Khomeini, meaning I conceded to the fatwa to murder the radio announcer who compared Fatemeh to Ushin. I am a criminal, forgive me. I was only thirteen when Khomeini died and did not grasp the gravity of the situation. My defending Khomeini that one and only time is due to my believing the tales of first decade of the Islamic Revolution spun by "Mostafa Tajerzadeh, Saeed Hajjarian, Hadi Khaniki, Abbas Abdi, Ali-Reza Alavitabar, etc." I defended crime because I trusted what I read in the columns written by those who hailed Khomeini the "spear header of republicanism/freedom/democracy". There were no free access to news and information in those days. I caught another glimpse into the revolution later on - one from Ayatollah Montazeri's chronicles. Ayatollah HosseinAli Montazeri, Khomeini's closest disciple and living friend sights him as a criminal, not once but more than fifty times. HosseinAli Montazeri addressing Khomeini: "do you know that there are crimes being committed in the annals of Islamic Republic prisons, likes of which were never seen in the despised Shah's regime? Do you know that a significant number of prisoners have died under torture by their interrogators? Do you know that in some of Mashhad's prisons approximately 25 girls were penetrated with such objects that caused them to undergo hysterectomy? Do you know in some of Islamic Republic's prisons young women are brutally raped?" And Khomeini knew all of these
1. Six years ago, I, Nima Rashedan, praised in one of the reformist publications Ayatollah Khomeini's style of ruling. Now, I announce clearly and loudly that I consider myself a "criminal". I apologize to you, millions of Iranians who each in some way are victims of Khomeini and his followers' atrocities. I apologize and hope you forgive me so at least I can sleep at nights. Alas, I AM a criminal because I did defend, even if only once, one of the greatest criminals of our time, Ruhollah Khomeini. And secondly, like many of the Islamic Republic's journalists and politicians, I sought to justify and or vindicate "Khomeini's crimes against humanity". I am a criminal because once and only once I defended Khomeini. Defending Khomeini means supporting his policies and I, like Mir Hossein Moussavi and Akbar Mohtashami have endorsed the Fatwa on Salman Rushdie's life. That means I AM a criminal. It means I have defended the events of the somber 60's: rape, torture and executions. I defended Khomeini, meaning I supported sending millions of untrained young men to the slaughter houses of west and south (Iran) only to continue the senseless war. I defended Khomeini, meaning I conceded to the fatwa to murder the radio announcer who compared Fatemeh to Ushin. I am a criminal, forgive me. I was only thirteen when Khomeini died and did not grasp the gravity of the situation. My defending Khomeini that one and only time is due to my believing the tales of first decade of the Islamic Revolution spun by "Mostafa Tajerzadeh, Saeed Hajjarian, Hadi Khaniki, Abbas Abdi, Ali-Reza Alavitabar, etc." I defended crime because I trusted what I read in the columns written by those who hailed Khomeini the "spear header of republicanism/freedom/democracy". There were no free access to news and information in those days. I caught another glimpse into the revolution later on - one from Ayatollah Montazeri's chronicles. Ayatollah HosseinAli Montazeri, Khomeini's closest disciple and living friend sights him as a criminal, not once but more than fifty times. HosseinAli Montazeri addressing Khomeini: "do you know that there are crimes being committed in the annals of Islamic Republic prisons, likes of which were never seen in the despised Shah's regime? Do you know that a significant number of prisoners have died under torture by their interrogators? Do you know that in some of Mashhad's prisons approximately 25 girls were penetrated with such objects that caused them to undergo hysterectomy? Do you know in some of Islamic Republic's prisons young women are brutally raped?" And Khomeini knew all of these
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