A Victim’s Sister Carries on the Fight

Mahnaz Javan-Khoshdel is the sister of Mostafa Javan-Khoshdel, one of the 13 honored martyrs on April 19 in Paris. Her presence deeply moved the crowd. Holding a photograph of her brother’s skull, marked by the execution bullet, alongside his portrait, she delivered a deeply emotional speech. Her words echoed pain, defiance, and a relentless demand for justice — a voice for the families who, half a century later, still seek truth and accountability.Mostafa was arrested in September 1972 at the age of 26. He was in contact with many merchants and workers. During the two and a half years he spent in prison, the criminal Sabeti and all the torturers under his command subjected him to the most horrific torture. But even under SAVAK’s most savage brutality, they could not break his will or extract any information.For a long time, he wasn’t allowed any visits. Once, when my mother went to see him, a torturer arrived with a paper and pen and insisted, “By the honor of His Majesty, if you write just two lines, you’ll be freed immediately.” Mostafa mockingly replied, “I don’t know how to read or write.”The Shah’s SAVAK had arrested and taken members of our family hostage to pressure Mostafa. I was arrested several times so they could reach my husband. The notorious torturer “Tehrani” constantly pressured me to divorce him.This tactic of taking families hostage under the Shah is the same dirty policy that has become an official strategy of this regime — advancing its goals through hostage-taking. Unfortunately, European governments still yield to it.Due to torture, Mostafa became extremely frail and thin. This 26-year-old young man looked like an old man. During the last visit, to hide his condition, they made him wear several layers of clothing to conceal the fact that he was nothing but skin and bones. The visitation room was a tiny space, barely two meters by one. Even there, his torturer, who looked like a monster, stood glued to him.Support the show