Interrogator! Leave and Let Hossein Live

News reports indicate that Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, the twenty something year old web blogger, is dying.  He has been imprisoned on charges of knowing how to use the Internet, for being smart and for saying “no” to the illegal interrogations and atrocious tortures that he has been subjected to for the purpose of extracting fake confessions from him to be ultimately aired on national television to support official claims that he is a Western spy. He has now lost his health and only about twenty percent of his liver is functioning. Because of this, he has been subjected to surgery five times and in each instance he has been taken back to prison before the completion of his recovery period. He is now on the verge of dying and has been on a hunger strike, rejecting even Aspirin, to protest his treatment.

If Hossein does not stop his hunger strike and continues to reject medical assistance he will certainly die. He has come to the point where he is saying “either give me rights or let me die.” Hossein does not want death but he is completely surrendered to death and has given up any hope of human treatment. His pride has been hurt. How long do you expect a person to be taken to the hospital and returned to prison before his post-operation period is over? How many times do you expect a person go so close to death and then be kept on the brink until the next push to death?

Any young person who suffers as much as he has will choose death despite his parent’s absolute care for him and despite his girl friend’s full love for him. With so much pain and suffering, one cannot expect anything else.

To those who can provide Hossein the medical care that he needs I say give it to him. To those who can ask the guards to leave his room, I say tell them to leave Hossein alone. To those who can stop the interrogators I say do it as this is what people expect them to do.

Mr. Khamenei! You posses power and authority. Say the words and save Hossein. Mr. Larijani! You are the chief judge. Intervene and save Hossein.

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Mr. Interrogator! You control all the interrogation rooms. You are the days and nights of people like Hossein whose liver has been taken away from him, return Hossein to his mother.

Oh guards! You are just another face of Hossein. You know that they do not understand or feel the pain that Hossein’s mother feels and suffering that his father is going through. You know that they don’t care about Hossein’s heart and mind. Leave that room. Leave so that Hossein stays. Leave that dark hospital room. Think of Hossein’s mother, of your own mother. Leave and let Hossein live.