I am returning from Abdollah Momeni’s house. The same house that was turned inside-out earlier today by intelligence agents searching for whatever document they were looking for. When his wife opened the door I could see the weight of worry and hatred on her face. On the innocent faces of her two sons – Amir and Hamid – I spotted a bittersweet smile. They were glad to have seen their father, who was accompanied by agents; but his worrying loss of weight and bearded face added a certain bitterness to his sons’ smile. Signs of beating and torture on the father’s body had tears rolling down Amir’s 10-year old cheeks.

Abdollah has been kept in a solitary cell at Evin prison’s infamous ward 209 since four days ago, says his wife – without any fresh air breaks, that is. He is under the impressions that all of his arrested colleagues have been released; a hard impression for a prisoner. According to his wife, Abdollah is being asked the same question over and over again during interrogation: “why don’t you just leave the country?” May be it is too difficult for the Islamic Republic to tolerate him, his peaceful political activism and his lawful efforts at the Iran Alumni Association [also known as Sazman-e Advar-e Tahkim].

Abdollah is getting ready for a hunger strike. He has been refusing to eat prison food. This is what officers have told his wife at least, before they started to look through each speck of space in Momeni’s house like hungry animals. Forget about the kitchen: they even searched the bathrooms for documents. Finally, they took all of Momeni’s notes along with several of his books and personal belongings. They even looked through bags of rice, lentil and sugar. During the hour and a half search, the agents looked through every corner of the house – including the children’s rooms. The phone line was disconnected, to ensure that the Momeni family was cut off from the outside world.

Abdollah’s hour-long escorted presence at the house, though hard for his wife, was also a source of inspiration for her heart. I know that even this will make it a bit easier to get through the next few days. Is it even possible to not feel energetic after looking at Amir and Hamid’s innocent faces that are lit up with joy, and their little bodies hovering around their father like butterflies? In the father’s absence, the two sons are helping their mother – helping her be both a mother and a father.

Source: Advarnews