Silva Harotonian, Alamhooli’s Cellmate: I Learned About Life from Shirin
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran interviewed Silva Harotonian, who shared a cell with Shirin Alamhooli for several months in Evin Prison’s General Ward and Ward 209. She told the Campaign that she learned about life from Shirin and is shocked by the news of her execution. “After my father’s death, this is the worst news I have ever had to hear.”
Referring to their shared experiences during their detention, Harotonian said: “The judge who issued Shirin’s death sentence is the same judge who sentenced me to three years in prison–Judge Salavati. The Judge kept saying that [Shirin’s case] was not serious, ‘No, it isn’t that serious.’ Then they gave her the death sentence. This sentence was from the lower court. It hadn’t even been confirmed or appealed…Shirin had a two-year sentence. I mean according to the law, she had to serve her two-year prison term. Her execution should have happened only if the Appeals Court upheld that sentence. Shirin was arrested on 26 May 2008, one month before me.”
Remembering Shirin Alamhooli, who was executed last Sunday, Harotonian said: “What I saw from Shirin during our time together–and I will always talk about it anywhere–is that during my 11-month imprisonment she was my guardian angel. She used to give me a lot of hope. She told me that the world is a good place and people aren’t really that bad–and that if a mistake has happened there will be a reprieve for sure. Shirin said, ‘Be hopeful; if your interrogator doesn’t get it, someone else will.’ She was so hopeful. She became literate in a short time and she helped others, too. We were together in Ward 209 for one month. Then we were separated. I stayed and Shirin was moved to the General Ward. When I was transferred to the General Ward, too, there she was, the same person. She was the type of person everybody loved.”
About Shirin Alamhooli’s character, Harotonian said: “She was a very quiet kid, an introvert. She never ever believed in injustice and kept saying, ‘It’s not like that.’ She never talked about these things. Other than this, she had suffered a lot in her life. She was born in a deprived region in a small town, where women’s rights were violated [all the time]. Shirin was a victim. This much I know.”
Describing her feelings after she heard news of Shirin Alamhooli’s death, she said: “I can’t define it precisely. I lost my father eleven years ago. That was the most painful day of my life. After my father’s death, this is the worst news I have ever had to hear. Even the hard days of my imprisonment were not as bitter as hearing news of Shirin’s death. I still can’t believe this happened.”
Harotonian said: “I used to give her a lot of hope. She was full of energy. She was always making fun of life and kept saying that there must be some justice somewhere and that things couldn’t stay like this forever. I kept giving her hope. I don’t know what to tell you. I have a lot of memories of her. I learned a lot from her. She didn’t have any school training but she was extremely hardy. She was really emancipated. She respected everyone just as they were. I was impressed because I went to college and traveled a lot, but this girl from a deprived region taught me about life. Nobody in my life taught me about life like Shirin did. It is such a pity that such a person who could have made the world a better place for living has stopped breathing. I don’t know, I’m so disappointed about God’s justice.”
News Background:
Silva Harotonian, 33, is an Iranian-Armenian who worked for an international NGO, IREX, in Iran, in the area of health care for mothers and babies. Intelligence forces arrested Ms. Harotonian on 26 July 2008 at about 6:00 p.m., along with Arash Alaei. After searching her home, the intelligence officers took her to Esteghlal Hotel for interrogations. She was asked about the health care project she was working on and pressured to make a confession that the project was a cover for political activities instigated by the U.S. government. Silva’s resistance to making such a confession led to her transfer to Ward 209 of Evin Prison by her two interrogators, who introduced themselves as “Haj Ahgaee,” and “Aghaye Doctor.”
