Identify the Murderer of the War Veteran

On June 19, 2009 a veteran of Iran’s 8-year war with Iraq, 48 year Abbas Disnad shut his store to go home. Tehran was the scene of demonstrations and violence for over a week then with people protesting the electoral coup of June 12. But before he could get far from his shop, Abbas received several unexpected baton flows on his head and fell. He was eventually taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead three days later. His wife survives and like many surviving family members of those killed in the post-election violence, is calling for the identification of those who beat up and killed her husband. His son Mehdi asks for justice and says, “My father was killed without cause and we do not want his death to go to waste.” His wife Maryam Khani speaks of the indifference that she faces from officials whom she regularly approaches to find who caused the death of her husband, as she calls for justice. Rooz spoke with the victim’s wife on her life since the horrific event.

Rooz: What was your husband’s job? Did he participate in demonstrations?

Maryam Khani (Maryam): He worked in the private sector and did not participate in the clashes. On June 19 he was merely a passerby who was going home from his store.

Rooz: Where did this take place and where did Abbas die?

Maryam: My husband’s grocery store was on Karoon Street. About 5pm he closed shop and started his way home. At the intersection of the next street, he was attacked and hit on the head by batons from behind, leading to a stroke. He was at Shahriyar Hospital for three days, after which he died.

Rooz: How did you hear about this?

Maryam: I was expecting him at home. Since he did not come I went to the district police station at 10 pm. Then I began to check out hospitals. From the hospital where he was taken to, they had identified his cell phone number and address, and called us.

Rooz: Were there any witnesses to the beating of your husband?

Maryam: We have not heard anything, but the neighbors of the store have told us that when Abbas fell on the ground after receiving the baton blows people wanted to help him but government agents prevented that and would not let them take him to the hospital. Abbas lay on the street for hours. At the hospital too doctors told us that had he been brought in earlier he would have been treated and would have lived.

Rooz: Is it true that they have taken a guarantee from you that when you received your husband’s body?

Maryam: Yes, they told me that I had to announce the death of my husband to be a heart attack.

Rooz: What does the coroner’s report say on the cause of death?

Maryam: They did not give us the coroner’s report. But the attorney who we had hired to file a complaint against the judiciary said that he had found the coroner’s report in his file where heart attack is noted as the cause of death.

Rooz: What is the status of your complaint with the judiciary?

Maryam: We filed a complaint after Abbas was buried and are asking for the identification and punishment of those responsible for the death of my husband. The file is in the criminal court. But no official has given us any reply till today. They did call us from the governor’s office and told us that your husband’s innocence had been established. This is why I expect the authorities to identify the murderers of this innocent man. I have a 23 year daughter and a 22 year son; what am I to tell them of this? Who killed their father and why? They cannot be allowed to hit and kill and get away. He was the head of this family and by killing him they took away our most beloved person, creating serious problems for us. Why is there no one to take responsibility for this?

Rooz: Is it true that your husband was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war?

Maryam: Yes he was. When he died, he still had shrapnel pieces in his body, and he suffered from severe backache from those days. But despite his condition, he never went to the Veteran’s Foundation to receive his stipend. He always said, “We fought for our country” and was not interested in receiving any privileges for that.