Omid Memorial
The men and women whose stories you can read on this page are now all citizens of a silent city named Omid ("hope" in Persian). There, victims of persecution have found a common life whose substance is memory.
Omid's citizens were of varying social origins, nationalities, and religions; they held diverse, and often opposing, opinions and ideologies. Despite the differences in their personality, spirit, and moral fiber, they are all united in Omid by their natural rights and their humanity. What makes them fellow citizens is the fact that one day each of them was unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. At that moment, while the world watched the unspeakable happen, an individual destiny was shattered, a family was destroyed, and an indescribable suffering was inflicted.
Nasrollah Farokhnia…
About a year after she had lodged her original complaint, the plaintiff submitted an official letter of acquiescence in which she retracted her complaint against Mr. Farokhnia and his co-defendants and denied any sexual acts having taken place.
Fakhroddin Modarres…
He had written on the independence of judges and the presumption of innocence and was ready to defend himself, if tried. In Revolutionary Courts, however, defendants were presumed guilty and judges mandated to kill.
Bahman Riahi (Sabri)…
was severely tortured while he was in custody. According to one of his relatives, some joints of his finger were cut off and there were severe burn marks on his back.