絕不認罪

A matter of conviction

(本文下載pdf.檔)

By Tara Kalmanson

Rotary International News -- 14 May 2010

扶輪基金大使獎學生總是讓人留下深刻的印象，2003年Roxana Saberi離開了美國成為伊朗外國記者，已成為國際名人以及伊朗人權的代表。

Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholars always impress, but Roxana Saberi, who left the United States for Tehran in 2003 as a foreign correspondent, has become an international celebrity and a face for human rights in Iran.

2009年5月釋放德黑蘭Evin監獄的前政治犯，四月十三日在芝加哥聯盟聯賽俱樂部Q＆A午餐聚會。她於全國巡迴服務，以宣傳她的書”兩個世界：我的生活與囚禁在伊朗”於3月30日發行。 Saberi回憶了許多從女政治犯身上學到的教訓，在Evin影響她的自由與她的生活的事件。

The former political prisoner, released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison in May 2009, sat down for a Q&A luncheon at the Union League Club in Chicago on 13 April. Her national tour served to promote her book, Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran , published 30 March. Saberi recalled the many lessons she learned from fellow female political prisoners, the events that led to her freedom, and her life before Evin.

伊朗政府在2006年撤銷她的記者證，Saberi留在該國並開始為美國讀者寫一本人民多樣性樣貌的書。

After the Iranian government revoked her press pass in 2006, Saberi stayed in the country and began writing a book for American readers that profiled the diversity of its people.

美國總統奧巴馬的就職典禮11天之後，她被綁架並關押在監獄裡100天，指控她利用她的書作為掩護，進行採訪上百位伊朗人和為美國中央情報局進行間諜活動。

Eleven days after U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration, she was kidnapped, questioned, and detained in Evin Prison for 100 days, accused of using her book as a cover to conduct hundreds of interviews with Iranians and spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Saberi的審訊人員, 使用非暴力的酷刑的方法強迫她做虛偽供述，以保證她的自由。在她不知道她是否將被釋放的那幾天，Saberi否認自己的罪行，議案審判的結果是8年徒刑，她自己的絕食抗議，並上訴成功。

Using nonviolent “white torture” (extreme sensory deprivation) techniques, Saberi’s interrogators forced her into making a false confession by guaranteeing her freedom if she admitted to espionage. Without knowing she would be released in a matter of days, Saberi recanted, setting in motion a sham trial that resulted in an eight-year sentence, her own hunger strike, and a successful appeal.

“不幸的是，很多伊朗人是被誣陷罪行，包括間諜活動”, 她說 “這使我懷疑，他們故意誣告他人，以加強其對社會的控制，並使人民保持沉默?”

 “Unfortunately, a lot of Iranians are falsely accused of crimes, including espionage,” she said. “It made me wonder, do they knowingly falsely accuse people to tighten their grip on society and to silence people?”

走向伊朗之路Road to Iran

在Evin, Saberi會見了許多沉默的政治犯和被邊緣化的群體成員像巴哈。他們的故事加強了她放棄主張。

In Evin, Saberi met many of these silenced political prisoners and members of marginalized groups like the Baha’is. Their stories strengthened her will to recant.

“有時我們可以藉由通過苦難變得更加強壯，”她說 “甚至當你被監禁，你仍然有能力控制你的態度。”

 “Sometimes through suffering we can have an opportunity to become stronger,” she said. “And even when you’re imprisoned, you still have power to control your attitude.”

Saberi在伊朗的期間參與美國小姐比賽，並且進入了前10名。她的天賦是彈鋼琴，同時在她被囚禁的期間, 能夠在Evin監獄裡的牆上敲擊她的手指。她利用她的獎學金參加西北大學梅迪爾新聞學院研究，並進一步推動取得1999-2000年度大使獎學金，在英國劍橋大學獲得第二個國際關係碩士學位。她曾為美國廣播公司電台、新聞專題報導、英國廣播公司、美國全國公共電台、革命制度黨和福克斯新聞寫作。

Saberi’s road to Iran included a stop at the Miss America competition, where she finished in the top 10. Her talent was playing the piano, a gift she would later put to use as a diversion while in solitary confinement at Evin by tapping her fingers against the wall. She used her scholarship money to attend Northwestern University’s Medill Graduate School of Journalism, and furthered her education with the help of a 1999-2000 Ambassadorial Scholarship, obtaining a second master’s degree in international relations at the University of Cambridge in England. She has written for ABC Radio, Feature Story News, the BBC, NPR, PRI, and Fox News.

“我覺得在我有新聞背景，但我卻沒有外交關係的背景下，”她說。 “我的目標就是成為一名外國記者。”

 “I felt like I had the journalism background, but I didn’t have the foreign relations background,” she said. “My aim was to become a foreign correspondent.”

現在，Saberi的未來計劃並不確定。自伊朗返回後，她完成了她的書，並與她的父母在北達科他州的法戈休息，同時,在伊朗選舉後參加過很多人權集會。她與她交往很久並屢獲殊榮的伊朗庫爾德導演男友巴曼巴迪(Ghobadi)一同編寫電影”沒有人知道關於波斯語”。雖然 Saberi希望最終返回伊朗，她說她一直太直言不諱以確保安全拜訪。

For now, Saberi’s future plans are unsure. Since her return from Iran, she has completed her book and has been relaxing with her parents in Fargo, North Dakota, as well as participating in a number of human rights gatherings after the Iranian election. She cowrote a film, No One Knows About Persian Cats , with her longtime boyfriend and award-winning Iranian-Kurdish director, Bahman Ghobadi. While Saberi hopes to eventually return to Iran, she says she has been too outspoken to ensure a safe visit.

“我經常擔心伊朗人民” Saberi說，“但我知道他們很勇敢，我很佩服他們, 但從長遠來說，他們會取勝。“

 “Often I get worried about the Iranian people,” Saberi says, “but I know they’re very courageous, and I admire them. In the long run, they can prevail.”