Then They Came for Me: A Story of Injustice and Survival in Iran's Most Notorious Prison

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Then They Came for Me: A Story of Injustice and Survival in Iran's Most Notorious Prison

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 436 ratings · 83 reviews

When Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he’d be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published February 1st 2012 by Oneworld Publications (first published May 19th 2011)

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Jan 31, 2013 lisa_emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: imprisoned, 2013-read, nonfiction

2013 is the year I catch up on the non-fiction books I’ve been meaning to read for the last few years. So many great non-fiction books came out in 2012 that I had not gotten around to reading that I vowed I would get on the wagon and made a list of over a dozen to read, I’ll probably add more to this list as the year unfolds. This book I’ve had in fact special ordered and it had been sitting on my shelf pleading to be read for the last several months.

I heard Mazair Bahiri interviewed on Fresh A...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Brian by: fresh air

Shelves: from-fresh-air, recommended-non-fiction, awesome-narrative-non-fiction

(5.0) Powerful story well told

I'd heard Maziar on Fresh Air and wanted to hear more of the story of his imprisonment in an Iranian political prison. I was pleasantly rewarded. I'm not sure how much of the quality is due to his co-author, Aimee Molloy, but I'm curious about other books she's worked on (though none actually sound that interesting to me now).

Maziar comes from a politically outspoken family so it was not so much an accident or misfortune that he was imprisoned, more his birth right....more

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Aug 21, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-nonfiction

Then they came for me, by Maziar Bahari, Aimee Molloy, Narrated by Stephen Hoye, produced by Tantor Media, downloaded from audible.com.

When Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran's presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiance, Paola, that he'd be back in just a few
days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran's most notorious prison, enduring
brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Gregg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Iranian-born, London-based journalist Maziar Bahari was imprisoned while covering the 2009 presidential elections in Iran for Newsweek magazine. He spent 118 days in Iran's most notorious prison, much of it in solitary confinement. He suffered at the hands of a brutal interrogator while being forced to confess to preposterous accusations. His experience was both terrifying and, at times, bizzarely surreal. I learned a lot about Iran's modern history as the author recounts his own family's legacy...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Laleh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Then They Came for Me" is targeted for non-Iranians who would like to know about the crazy and complex labyrinth of Iranian political and security systems. It is also a personal story: How Maziar Bahari and his family suffered tortures and imprisonment from the Iranian regime over the years.

I liked the way he depicts a frame of "here and now" (from the streets of Tehran to his horrible moments of solitary confinement to his interrogations) and then takes a step back and tells us stories of his...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Jenn LeBow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-book-3rd-thursdays

In a world that all too often tells us that selfishness is the only way to get ahead, stories of great love stand out. Today I'll be telling you about three of my recent favorite love stories: Then They Came For Me, by Maziar Bahari; A Good and Perfect Gift, by Amy Julia Becker; and Global Girlfriends: How One Mom Made it Her Business to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide, by Stacey Edgar.

None of these books is a romance novel; in fact, one is a memoir with insight into international politics, anot...more In a world that all too often tells us that selfishness is the only way to get ahead, stories of great love stand out. Today I'll be telling you about three of my recent favorite love stories: Then They Came For Me, by Maziar Bahari; A Good and Perfect Gift, by Amy Julia Becker; and Global Girlfriends: How One Mom Made it Her Business to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide, by Stacey Edgar.

None of these books is a romance novel; in fact, one is a memoir with insight into international politics, another is a spiritual memoir focusing on parenting and a child with Down Syndrome, and the last is the story of a small business' inception and growth.

So why are they some of my favorite love stories?

Maziar Bahari, an Iranian Canadian, worked for Newsweek as the magazine's correspondent for Iran in 2009. He traveled to his country of origin in July to cover the presidential election between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. Bahari describes the mood in Iran as hopeful, electric. Despite his own family's turbulent history in Iranian political matters - Bahari's father and sister had been imprisoned by the shah in the '50's and Ayatollah Khomeini in the '80's, respectively - Bahari anticipated an unhindered professional visit for himself, and an unprecedented victory for the moderate Iranians as he watched crowds swell in support of Mousavi.

Instead, as Iranians watched in disbelief, Ahmadinejad was declared the winner. Within days, Bahari was arrested at his mother's home and taken to Evin Prison, notorious in Iran. For 118 days, officials imprisoned Bahari, interrogating him, beating him, accusing him of espionage and worse. Throughout his ordeal, he knew nothing of the massive campaign to win his release, spearheaded by his fiancée and Newsweek, until a guard called him "Mr. Hillary Clinton."

Woven into the narrative about his familial history, his professional life, and his imprisonment, an ever-present love ties Maziar Bahari's story together. It is love of country. Patriotic love is not exclusive to the United States, and reading Then They Came For Me showed me much of value in the history and people of Iran. In these days of heightened tension between our countries, reading Bahari's book reminded me of a deeper story behind the headlines.

When we look deeper, even events that seem devastating at first can bring us exactly what we need, according to Amy Julia Becker. Ensconced in a happy marriage, fulfilling career, and cozy apartment as house parents at a private boarding school, Amy Julia Becker and her husband, Peter, await the arrival of their baby girl eagerly. When she arrives, Penny is diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The diagnosis leads to previously unimaginable post-partum feelings; instead of pure joy, Becker describes a mixture of grief and love.

As Becker presents vignettes from her family's life with Penny, her own view of her daughter veers from grief to acceptance to awe and joy. Throughout, her strong faith and her supportive husband anchor her as she learns to be a parent, not an easy task even in what most of us would think of as "ideal" circumstances. In Becker's unwavering maternal love, to her own surprise, she finds that Penny is ideal. As I read along, my emotions began to mirror Becker's. Her pride in her daughter's abilities, her loyalty to her and protection of her, and her ability to see Penny herself, not just a child with a syndrome, made Becker relatable, challenging, and inspiring.

After love of country and love of a child, love of a business hardly seems as inspiring. Stacey Edgar, however, started Global Girlfriends not out of a love of commerce, but a desire to help impoverished women. Global Girlfriends, started in her home with seed money from an income tax refund, grew out of Edgar's belief that a successful business model would include partnering with small craft groups worldwide to develop beautiful, on-trend products that would find a wider niche in the first-world market. She wasn't just a conduit to bring crafts to a new outlet, she felt. Global Girlfriends needed to be just that: a collection of girlfriends, each bringing her gifts to the table to share.

For Edgar, the personal connection to the artisans is essential; she recognizes the change wrought in our spending habits when women know the story of the women crafters. When she travels to Nepal and feels as if she's been brought into the artisans' family, she internalizes the "namaste" greeting, which conveys the idea that the light of God inside me acknowledges and accepts the light of God inside you. Global Girlfriends is a love story about the power of friendship and compassion to give all of us an opportunity to be made more healthy and whole.

My world can get surprisingly small sometimes. Though we travel often with Honey's work, I can shrink it down like a turtle until my world is contained in my house. Maziar Bahari, Amy Julia Becker, and Stacey Edgar helped open me back up to love and hope this month. I hope you'll enjoy at least one of their stories for yourself.(less)

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Dec 08, 2011 Martha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For those students who are sophisticated readers and have an interest in other cultures, even if it is life in an Iranian prison, this book is a good read.
Bahari presents an informative overview about the government in Iran since the US supported shah was ousted. He also covered quite a bit of history since 1959 up to the 2009 elections. I struggle to think how many political prisoners experience the same abuse, yet we do not know their names or stories.
This book reminded me in many ways of Pri...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Sara Sg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, middle-east, iran, politics

I would very much like to give this book a 3.5 rating. But because I can't, I'll go for the lower.

Maziar Bahari writes about his 118 days in Evin prison following the post-election uprise in Iran in June 2009. He intertwines the story with his family's, especially his father's and older sister's, -both gone now-, stories of resistance and imprisonment at different periods in Iranian politics. At the same time, his British wife in London is five months pregnant, adding up to the turmoil.

For what...more I would very much like to give this book a 3.5 rating. But because I can't, I'll go for the lower.

Maziar Bahari writes about his 118 days in Evin prison following the post-election uprise in Iran in June 2009. He intertwines the story with his family's, especially his father's and older sister's, -both gone now-, stories of resistance and imprisonment at different periods in Iranian politics. At the same time, his British wife in London is five months pregnant, adding up to the turmoil.

For what feels like most of the book, Bahari is discussing the political scene in Iran: the context, the figures, the dynamics, plus some history, all with the precision of a world-class journalist, to the point of somewhat resembling it to the experience of reading a whole bunch of disjoint news articles. While I appreciated what seemed very well-researched, deliberate, and eye-opening information about Iranian politics, his 101 of Iranian politics tone of delivery kept the sophistication level of discussions on the surface. If Bahari's goal was to reach out to a wider range of readers and educate the general public about Iran, I think he can consider it achieved. However, as an Iranian with a certain level of prior knowledge about the subject matter, I felt like an unwelcome audience; I frequently, had to skip pages to get to more relevant parts.
The book is only sufficiently well written. I was especially not a big fan of his journalistic monotony or the repeated use of certain 'pet' phrases. Also, in what seemed like an attempt to over-exoticise the scenery, he would switch arbitrarily to Farsi phrases, and sometimes sentences, over their English translations and he'd keep on using them. I didn't appreciate this pointless overuse either.
The content is only sufficiently emotional and and sufficiently sophisticated. The emotions are dispersed and sporadic, like a journalist who all of a sudden remembers that he is also a human. With the exception of a few of such episodes, especially one where he references Leonard Cohen's 'sisters of mercy', most of them feel slightly like an unnatural attempt to sensationalize. Or maybe, that was just because of his matter of fact tone of narrating.

In any case, there was certain points about the book that I really appreciated, but other ones that seriously annoyed me all throughout reading it. But I read it all the way to the end, because I don't like leaving books half read, so I guess, overall, it was a positive experience. (less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Josie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

*** Warning Spoilers***

I actually downloaded this book to my mp3 player from the Maryland Public Digital Library months ago and forgot all about it. I chose to listen to it from a list of many other forgotten books a few days ago, not knowing what it was about.

As I listened to this audio book I reached a point where I had to rewind. "Wait, did I just hear the book talk about the Daily Show, a Jason Jones interview, and this being proof of his being a spy!?" My favorite part was when Mr. Rosewate...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: BBC Listeners

Shelves: fradio, radio-4, published-2011, spring-2012, autobiography-memoir, nonfiction, persia-iran

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 16, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dies ist kein christliches Buch, aber ein Buch, das Einblick gibt in den zeitgeschichtlichen Hintergrund der gegenwärtigen geistlichen Erweckung im Iran.
Es ist der persönliche Bericht eines iranisch-kanadischen Journalisten, der 2009 im Iran war, um über die Wahlen zu berichten, dabei unter Spionageverdacht geriet und 3 Monate im Gefängnis verbrachte und auf brutalste Weise verhört wurde, weil er etwas gestehen sollte, was er nicht getan hatte.
In seinen persönlichen Bericht eingewoben ist die Ge...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Debby Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Given: he's getting arrested, held and he's getting released. The why and how are interesting and reasonably well told. Set next to Laura Ling and Euna Lee, they make an interesting set. All three are so much braver than I could ever imagine being. Interestingly, the women were not physically tortured, and their stories told of their emotional agonies. Mazi was tortured, but that doesn't feel like the biggie in the book. It is horrific, but his telling is so measured it feels like just another p...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Andrew Griffith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

And Then They Came for Me, Maziar Bahari’s recounting, as a Newsweek journalist, of Iran’s Green Revolution and his subsequent imprisonment. Not as sophisticated as Haleh Esfandiari’s My Prison My Home, but lots of common insights into Iran, the interrogation process, courage and ways to keep one’s sanity, and the importance to international pressure to get them released. And with some wonderful asides on Leonard Cohen (his strongest Canadian connection), both his cynical side (Everybody Knows a...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Shahrun rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

First I have to tell you that I got a copy of this book through GoodReads First Reads Giveaways, in exchange for an honest review. (This review is all my own opinion!)

As soon as I discovered this book I knew it was important for me to read it. I found it was a very emotional experience. I cannot remember the last time I have read anything that made me cry so much or so angry. Although I wish that Mr Bahari and his family did not have to suffer this horrific experience, I am so grateful that when...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Seymour rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, biography, recent-history

I think everyone needs to read this book in order to get a better understanding of what is behind that tiny word, "Iran", when the newsreader says it.

Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist, was arrested following the Iranian election in 2009. Beatings and solitary confinement ensued as the regime attempted to extract a confession from him that he was a spy.

In spite of the agonising circumstances, he had been expecting to return to the side of his pregnant fiancée in London in a matter of days, Ma...more I think everyone needs to read this book in order to get a better understanding of what is behind that tiny word, "Iran", when the newsreader says it.

Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist, was arrested following the Iranian election in 2009. Beatings and solitary confinement ensued as the regime attempted to extract a confession from him that he was a spy.

In spite of the agonising circumstances, he had been expecting to return to the side of his pregnant fiancée in London in a matter of days, Maziar writes with warmth and flashes of humour that betray enormous strength of soul. He comes from a family of dissidents whose love for their nation has forced them to defy three generations of tyranny. His father and his sister and numerous friends were incarcerated and tortured under successive regimes and Maziar uniquely weaves their story into an account of the recent history of Iran since the times of the last Shah.

This is not just a book about his imprisonment and eventual release, it is an insightful and authoritative analysis of the tensions within Iran and a snapshot of a generation that is ready for a change that was quite brutally denied them in the last election.

The author is at pains to bring a journalistic fairness to bear even on his captors and tormentors and the human elements of his relationship with his interrogator are poignantly told with a sense that the man who beats him is, himself, a puppet of the regime. This objectivity gives the author the moral high ground at every turn. The paranoia and ignorance of the authorities is starkly contrasted with his attempts to speak the truth. At one point he is interrogated about his relationship with the dead playwright Anton Checkhov, who they are convinced is another zionist spy.

The Iranians have a beautiful and ancient culture and many of the kindest and most well mannered people I have ever met are from Iran. It is tragic that this is not reflected in all the "bad news" that comes from that part of the globe and it is important that we do not respond with the same blindness that grips the current regime. Please read this book.

This is the first book I ever received as part of a Firstreads giveaway on Goodreads. The publishers do not solicit reviews and this is, therefore, my freely-given and honest reading of the book.(less)

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Oct 10, 2011 Kristin added it · review of another edition

This was a great and important book, as well as a great read. It should be mandatory reading for all Americans. It's disturbing to know how much Iranian officials hate America; how deeply many of them are in the service of the actual forces of evil in the universe; how mind-bogglingly stupid they are; how profoundly they continue to oppress their people; and how strong and indomitable is the spirit of the Iranian people in the face of this oppression. My amazement grows all the time at how much...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Andrew Mcneill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fascinating insight into life in Iran and how Bahari was imprisoned and interrogated for many months. The bizarre and conspiratorial mindset of the Iranian government is clearly seen as they interrogate him and makes for exciting reading. Throughout the book, Bahari makes frequent reference to how he spends time in prison imagining dialogues with his father and sister in order to gain guidance. And yet I felt sorry for him through this because he rejects the opportunity of talking to the God who...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed reading this book, although I found it profoundly disturbing. Let's just say it's not recommended bedtime reading. I learned a great deal about what went on in Iran politically during the 2009 elections, and the subsequent protests by the people. Bahari was an Iranian-Canadian journalist covering the election for Newsweek, when he was arrested and jailed (his British fiancee was five months pregnant at the time). He spent four months in prison, being interrogated, beaten and tor...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Daven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fascinating but disturbing account of Bahari's six-month imprisonment in an Iranian prison at the hands of the Revolutionary Guard. His story ironically humanizes his captors, rather than demonizing them. Very welcome insights, especially having taught a remarkable recent Iranian immigrant teen this past year, whose family left his much-loved home country due to religious persecution. We talked a bit about this book; his assessment of what's what in "his country" was quite grim, but not surprisi...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Alice Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An extremely important story for this age. The first third of the book is a background in the complex political scene of Iran. Then the story gets very personal and Mr. Bahari shares his story of imprisonment, torture, hope and despair - but some how still finds dark humor and resilience. Beautiful! It's a family story, a story of hope for a new generation - one of courage. I want to learn more about Iran, and see what happens next!

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Jun 05, 2012 Margaret Dillon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An Iranian journalist returns to Iran to cover the protest movement following the last disputed election. As he is arrested and interrogated for months we learn how this police state operates and get inside glimpses of some of the people formerly and presently in power. What is most striking is the lack of intelligence and knowledge displayed by the authorities he has contact with.
I felt I learned a lot.

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Dec 27, 2011 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book because I saw the author on the Daily Show before (and after) he was imprisoned.

He seems to have a lot more hope for Iran than the rest of the world does. But even sometimes he says "Look at you, the people 'in charge' of my imprisonment. And you call yourselves the leaders of Iran? We deserve what we get if you are who we have placed in charge of us". (this is not verbatim, but the gist i got from it)

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Jan 23, 2013 Maureen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-challenge-2013

I've read a few memoirs by journalists of their imprisonment by totalitarian regimes by now, but this account was one of the best yet. I think Bahari does an incredible job of tying in his family history to his unfortunate confinement in the Evin prisons. Connecting his personal experience to the overall fight to combat human rights abuses in Iran is really what makes this book stick out.

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Jun 10, 2012 Kirstie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An emotionally charged look into the political landscape of Iran through the eyes and experiences of a native son.

This work was something special and if you are in the least bit interested in the state of Iranian affairs, this is a read for you. It is not only informative, but full of deep, personal thoughts that take hold of Mr. Bahari during his time in captivity.

I'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's a great read and the more you know of other nations, the more you can do to hel...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Becky Hughes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Glad I picked this one. Maziar Bahari tells of his captivity and torture in 2009 in his homeland of Iran. I, like many Americans, hear sound bites about world news. This book helps set the scene, explain the background and gives some insight into what might happen next in Iran. His mother is my hero. Bless her for her courage and strength.

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Jul 25, 2012 Amblingbooks.com marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, political, people-biographies

A riveting, heart-wrenching memoir of Maziar Bahari's brutal interrogation in Iran's most notorious prison, offering insight into Iran's turbulent recent past and uncertain future.

Listen to Then They Came for Me on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.

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Jun 26, 2012 Jonathan Gilbert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well worth reading. good coverage of contemporary political situation in Iran and the extent to which the authorties are prepared to pursue a nonsense cause is genuinely mind boggling. Bahari does ' go on a bit' but I finished the book feeling genuinely sorry for him and angry about the situation others like him are facing on a daily basis.

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Aug 02, 2011 Alice rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. I don't normally read non-fiction but I heard this author on Jon Stewart and was amazed by his sense of humor after everything that has happened to him. You will need to be willing to learn about Iran and its history(which the history geek in my loved), but it was a wonderful book!

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May 08, 2013 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow. A remarkable account of imprisonment in Iran. A journalist, Bahari writes well but he also manages to maintain and convey a sense of humanity despite the traumatic nature of events he describes. Although the subject is difficult, reading this book isn't. In fact, I could hardly put it down.

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Aug 23, 2011 Don Sommers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Harrowing, clear-eyed account of his imprisonment in Iraq. And sort of the 'next chapter' in Iraq's political history after reading Shappi Khorsandi's "A Beginner's Guide to Acting English." A very dispiriting arc, despite the strength of spirit of so many Iraqis (including his mother).

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