Iran executes Peace Poet Hashem Shaabani

A poet was hanged in Iran yesterday. I confess to paying little attention to the Middle East these days because I believe it’s an Orwellian endless war being milked for profit with the Saudi’s on one side and Israel on the other, and MI6 and the CIA pulling strings all over the place. Forget about any peace movement ever emerging anywhere over there. Any potential messiahs are killed as quickly as they appear. Nothing political happens by accident in this environment and the nastiest of spook ops unfold on a daily basis. But still, I had to know more about this peace poet and why he had to die.

Hassan Rouhani (left, wearing turban) is the villain in this tragedy. He’s the 7th President of Iran and has quietly executed over 400 dissidents, while projecting himself as a moderate in favor of women’s rights. Time magazine fawns on him, calling him the 9th most powerful person in the world? One wonders why his reign of terror gets virtually no play in the Western media. But then, Western media is really a carefully controlled cartel run by a handful of global corporations

Hashem Shaabani is the poet and hero of this tragedy. He held a Masters in Political Science and taught Arabic literature in high school. He also wrote poetry in both Arabic and Farsi. He leaves behind a widow and child and invalid parents he had been caring for until his arrest in February of 2011 in Khalafabad.
After months of torture, Hashem confessed to some outrageous statements on Iranian television, many of which were patently absurd, like his being an agent of Hosni Mubarak and Muammer al-Qadafi and bent on violent terrorism. In truth, this poet began his political career by organizing peace festivals. I could go on about him, but why not just read excerpts from his final statement released prior to his execution? I have provided my own edited translation:

After our peace festivals were banned by the government, we aspired to study our mother tongue as stated in Articles 15 and 19 of the Islamic Republic Constitution. We soon realized the constitution was a mirage and it was futile to try and work through local media, so I began publishing my poems on social media to reveal sufferings of the Ahwazi Arabs and used my nickname “Abu Aala Al-ofoghi.” I posted a report on the “Black Wednesday” massacre that happened in Mohammarah in 1979.

On 11th of February 2011, when I was staying at home and after I came back from the Shaihk Ansari high school, where I used to teach in Khalafyeh, I was arrested by the Iranian intelligence service (Etelaat) and accused of being a member of the resistance. I suffered physical and mental tortures and was forced to make false confessions. I stayed five months in the detention center of the intelligence services and transferred to Karoun prison. I first appeared in court on 21st of May, 2012. I tried to say the truth in front the judge and honestly stated the so-called “popular resistance” did not exist, that I only represented “Hashem Shabani” and that I was forced under physical and mental tortures by Etelaat to confess things I never committed. I made my statement in front of the judge three different times. I was surprised and angry when I heard the final verdict. They gave me and four of my friends death sentences, and another friend, Rahman Asakereh, received 20 years imprisonment in exile. I’d like to confirm that I never participated in any armed activity as I totally disagree with violence.

Hashem Shabani (Abu Aala Al-ofoghi)