Die US-amerikanische Journalistin Roxana Saberi schreibt in der Washington Post über ihre Hafterfahrung mit zwei der sieben ehemals führenden Angehörigen der iranischen Bahá’í-Gemeinde. Während ihrer eigenen Gefangennahme durch die iranische Regierung teilte sie für einige Wochen im berüchtigten Teheraner Evin-Gefängnis die Zelle mit Fariba Kamalabadi und Mahvash Sabet.
I had heard about Mahvash and Fariba before I met them. Other prisoners spoke of the two middle-aged mothers whose high spirits lifted the morale of fellow inmates. …
Despite the gravity of the accusations against them, Mahvash and Fariba had not once been allowed to see attorneys. Yet my cellmates‘ spirits would not be broken, and they boosted mine. They taught me to, as they put it, turn challenges into opportunities — to make the most of difficult situations and to grow from adversity. We kept a daily routine, reading the books we were eventually allowed and discussing them; exercising in our small cell; and praying — they in their way, I in mine. They asked me to teach them English and were eager to learn vocabulary for shopping, cooking and traveling. They would use the new words one day, they told me, when they journeyed abroad. But the two women also said they never wanted to live overseas. They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians. …
I know that despite what they have been through and what lies ahead, these women feel no hatred in their hearts. When I struggled not to despise my interrogators and the judge, Mahvash and Fariba told me they do not hate anyone, not even their captors.