Ramin Jahanbegloo spent 125 days in solitary confinement in Evin prison and survived
On the morning of April 27, 2006, the Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo arrived at the Tehran Airport. He was on his way to a conference in Brussels. He checked his luggage, passed through security, prepared to board his flight. And then suddenly, four bearded men approached and ordered him to follow them. They forced the professor head first into...
On the morning of April 27, 2006, the Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo arrived at the Tehran Airport. He was on his way to a conference in Brussels. He checked his luggage, passed through security, prepared to board his flight. And then suddenly, four bearded men approached and ordered him to follow them. They forced the professor head first into a waiting car and sped off. He had no idea what was happening.
What he did know, was that a long list of Iranian artists and intellectuals had been grabbed in this very way, and then murdered. Within twenty minutes, Jahanbegloo was in front of the notorious Evin Prison.
Blindfolded, he was led to a room where a voice announced, "This is the last stop." This was Section 209, a high security interrogation centre reserved for people accused of spying, of being traitors to Islam and the Revolution.
Blindfolded, he was led to a room where a voice announced, "This is the last stop." This was Section 209, a high security interrogation centre reserved for people accused of spying, of being traitors to Islam and the Revolution.
Jahanbegloo - who had never been politically active - was charged with conspiring to overthrow the state. He was thrown into solitary confinement, interrogated twice a day, for 125 days. He made notes on the back of a tissue box that he cut into tiny pieces and stashed away.
Now living in Toronto, and teaching at York University, Ramin Jahanbegloo has taken some of those notes and turned them into a book. Time Will Say Nothing - a line borrowed from his favourite poet, W.H. Auden - is a meditation on solitary confinement, memory and resistance.
Ramin Jahanbegloo was released from prison on August 23, 2006. He came to Canada a year and a half later. His book is published by University of Regina Press. Our documentary, "Time Will Say Nothing" was produced by Alisa Siegel.