Reuters reported Tuesday that the head of Iran’s prison system has apologized for the “bitter events” that unfolded at Evin prison in Tehran after footage of prisoners being tortured and assaulted were leaked and shared online by hackers.
In a tweet reported by state media, Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi wrote: “Regarding the pictures from Evin prison, I accept responsibility for such unacceptable behavior and pledge to try to prevent any repeat of these bitter events and to deal seriously with the wrongdoers.”
He added: “I apologize to God Almighty, our dear leader (Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei), the nation and honorable prison guards, whose efforts will not be ignored due to these mistakes.” Curiously, or rather, astonishingly, Reuters wrote that this “was a rare admission of human rights abuses in Iran, which often has dismissed criticism of its human rights record as baseless.”
I don’t know how much it matters that such admissions are rare since the agency, like other Western media outlets reporting on our region, can see Iran’s assaults on our states, peoples, and activists. Did these global media outlets not see the scale of assassinations and kidnapping of Iraqi activists?
Do the Western media and rights groups not see what has happened and continues to the people of Syria or what is happening in Lebanon - the assassinations and the systematic destruction of institutions and the state as a whole - as a result of the Iranian meddling that is destroying the region’s states and repressing their citizens?
Moreover, did the agency not notice, for example, that the head of Iran’s prisons had also apologized to prison guards, saying they are “honorable prison guards, whose efforts will not be ignored due to these mistakes.” He speaks of “honorable prison guards” while the leaked videos show that it is the prison guards who physically and verbally assaulted the prisoners. A man with a turban is also seen walking over the body of a prisoner who had been tortured.
And so we ask ourselves: what is the Iranian apology worth given that Western countries, including the United States, and rights groups overlook the crimes Iran perpetrates inside and outside the country just so they can conclude the nuclear deal with Iran?
The truth is that Iran has broken every rule in the book, whether it is in regional states, in the seas, or within the country. Despite that, Iran has not paid the price for any of its grave mistakes or its assassinations. Instead, it is met with “extended arms” and more calls for dialogue after every crime it commits.
All of that, unfortunately, renders speaking about human rights, as well as respect for international law in our region or eyewitness accounts, totally worthless. This is because shedding light on such matters has become a tool used selectively to terrorize. When Iran does it, it is overlooked by the West, and when regional states do it, we see the Western media enraged.
These are not biased or reactionary opinions. Indeed, the reality is telling us that the concepts of human rights and respect for international law are the primary victims of Iran’s actions. They, just like Iranian apologies, have become worthless.
That will become increasingly clear with the developments that will unfold every day.