Silva's Turn

Silva’s Turn
By Justin Smith

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I was first alerted to Silva Harotonian’s disaster when a friend of mine sent me an email early in the year about an IREX employee who had been arrested while working in Iran. Silva was arrested for inciting a ‘soft revolution’ in an attempt to overthrow the Iranian government.

My first thought was wow one woman, charged with a soft revolution in Iran, one could only be so honored to be of such importance, such intellectual merit, and influence to be arrested under such terms. But revolution shouldn’t have been the case they gave her, and this charge is nothing but a bunch of meadow muffins as to why she was really arrested.

It’s not difficult to assume that the arrest has nothing to do with espionage or a revolution, and everything to do with religious suppression and shutting down an program funded by the US State department.

Silva Harotonian, 34, an Iranian citizen was arrested on June 26, 2008 while on a two week business trip to Tehran while working for a program called Maternal and Child Health Education and Exchange Program (MCHEEP). MCHEEP is a program based out of Yerevan, Armenia to facilitate sharing knowledge and best practice exchanges for healthcare professionals, and one of many programs that fall under the organization, International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). These healthcare professionals in Iran spend two weeks at a time in the US.

Silva holds a duel citizenship to both Iran and Armenia and while entering Iran, showed her Iranian passport. At the time of her arrest in June 2008, Silva was an administrative officer for MCHEEP and the only IREX staff member on the ground in Iran at the time. Her responsibilities were limited to administrative duties such as budget management and travel arrangements.

While Silva was preparing Iranian exchange students on the details of their two week stay in the United States, she was arrested, and disappeared for three days. During this time Silva was in solitary confinement till she “confessed” to being a spy. According to the, Iran Human Rights Voice website, Iranian intelligence used a forced video confession to place further pressure on her. Chances are the video tape was just to show in court that she was allegedly guilty.

It was during this time that Silva’s family began to wonder where she was because they hadn’t heard from her in those three days. Her name resurfaced while in Evin Prison from a human rights group, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI). Iranian officials had put and end to the MCHEEP program if you will, the same week she was arrested.


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Silva’s trial took about four hours, behind closed doors, with only Iranian media, and Iranian intelligence basically there to threaten her. Then the Iranian government didn’t say a word till Barak Obama’s inauguration, as to send a message to the US government, however cryptic and confrontational.  

The Iranian judiciary is a black hole at best, no evidence was ever produced to convince the rest of the world that she was guilty, which leaves only one other option, she’s not.  This ostensibly means that Silva was a national and religious threat to a massive country with over 60 million people in it and sentenced to three years in Evin Prison. Still convinced she’s a threat? In a 45 minute interview I spoke with Klara, Silva’s cousin and she remarked, “Are we missing something, I don’t know probably. All we know is there is and innocent person in jail.”   

One question keeps repeating in my head, why was she arrested? Still this doesn’t seem to make sense, but I usually default and throw my hands up in the air and tell myself I don’t get humans, I never will. Silva is a Christian, and as far as religious numbers are concerned, she is a minority, and not regarded very highly in as far as the Iranian government is concerned. Silva’s family is concerned for her safety for this reason.

Silva’s attorney whose name wasn’t provided to me, told Silvia’s family they don’t have many options when it comes to the Iranian court system. The first option, which her attorney recommended is to admit she was a spy and get only three years in Prison. The second option is she can insist that she is innocent and get an unreasonably long prison sentence, one with no end in sight.

But until then Silva’s attorney essentially told Klara and her family to keep her out of the media eye at least till she has her court date, turns out freakish media coverage tends to perturb the Iranian government. It was when Silva was sentenced to three years that Klara and Silva’s family finally decided to launch the www.freesilva.org website in January of 2009, they had no other options.  

The attorney is an independent criminal attorney who chose the case because he considered Silva not of a political species, but one of benevolence. Klara, “The attorney would have avoided the case altogether if he thought she was politically motivated.”  then she added, “Silva studied literature and loved Hamlet, and avoided talking about politics. Charity was a part of her family upbringing”

Silva has been locked up and kept from society for close to a year now. Klara, “Silva’s health is deteriorating, she is having migraines and losing a lot of weight.” Due to her weight and current condition, medication is being restricted for fear that her health condition and the medication will quarrel. Klara, “These things she tries to keep from her mother who visits Silva once a week.”  

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The press release from the US State Department on April, 6 2009 states that, “Silva Harotonian was trying to promote a so-called "Velvet Revolution" in Iran are "baseless" and that her health is deteriorating in prison.” The State Department has appealed to the Iranian authorities for her release.

Since the State Department’s press release I asked what has changed since this. Klara replied, “Not much just that it reached over 150 news outlets, some news outlets are interested, prior to that…nothing.”

In a disappointed and a futile recognition of Silva’s ghost, Klara mentioned with reference to media outlets, “Why do we care, she’s not from the US, not a US citizen” The phone fell silent for a few seconds…”we’ve tried everything.”

Justin Smith is a freelance writer and can be contacted at justinsmiths@gmail.com