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Death to the Dictator! : A Young Man Casts a Vote in Iran's 2009 Election and Pays a Devastating Price
Tehran, June 12, 2009. Mohsen Abbaspour, an ordinary young man in his twenties—not particularly political, or ambitious, or worldly—casts the first vote of his life in Iran’s tenth presidential election. Fed up with rising unemployment and inflation, he backs the reformist party and its candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Mohsen believes his vote will count.
It will not. Almost the instant the polls close, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will declare himself president by an overwhelming majority. And as the Western world scrambles to make sense of the brazenly fraudulent election, Mohsen, along with his friends and family and neighbors, will experience a sense of utter desolation, and then something an increasingly sharper feeling—the beginning of anger. In a matter of weeks, millions of Iranians will flow into the streets, chanting in protest, “Death to the dictator!” Mohsen Abbaspour will be swept up in an uncontrollable and ultimately devastating chain of events.
Like Philip Gourevitch’s We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families and Ryszard Kapuscinski’s incisive reportage, Death to the Dictator! stuns readers with its heartbreaking immediacy. Our pseudonymous author was a keen eyewitness in Tehran during the summer of 2009 and beyond. In this brave and true book, we see what we are not supposed to see, and learn what we are not supposed to know.
It will not. Almost the instant the polls close, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will declare himself president by an overwhelming majority. And as the Western world scrambles to make sense of the brazenly fraudulent election, Mohsen, along with his friends and family and neighbors, will experience a sense of utter desolation, and then something an increasingly sharper feeling—the beginning of anger. In a matter of weeks, millions of Iranians will flow into the streets, chanting in protest, “Death to the dictator!” Mohsen Abbaspour will be swept up in an uncontrollable and ultimately devastating chain of events.
Like Philip Gourevitch’s We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families and Ryszard Kapuscinski’s incisive reportage, Death to the Dictator! stuns readers with its heartbreaking immediacy. Our pseudonymous author was a keen eyewitness in Tehran during the summer of 2009 and beyond. In this brave and true book, we see what we are not supposed to see, and learn what we are not supposed to know.
148 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 5, 2013
A horrific tale told from the perspective of an Iranian youth who dared to hope for political change in his country. Written under a pseudonym for protection, the narrative tells of the events leading up to and immediately following the 2009 Iranian Presidential election, where a reformist candidate clearly had won the popular vote but the reactionary, right wing Islamist fundamentalists stole the election to allow Ahmadinejad a second term. So it goes.
The week following the stolen vote election saw massive demonstrations that were quickly snuffed with brutality. Iran is no North Korea, and it was impossible for the lying state media to spew its propaganda about the deaths (the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan is a particularly chilling example of how the State's position of her death being caused by unruly mobs was quickly refuted by the video placed on YouTube. WARNING: that video is extremely graphic and soul-suckingly sad).
We are a week away from the next presidential election in Iran. After finishing this book I searched online for as much info as I could find on the candidates. Only those candidates chosen by the six member Muslim council may be considered as candidates, and it looks like this year the Ayatollah Khamenei has been certain to keep all true reformists off the docket and avoid another 2009.
I'm just now finishing Herodotus' "Histories" and I've learned so much about the Persian history; a place rich in culture and a proud heritage. It is sad how much I have been negatively molded by Western media about Iran. I want to read more books like this about the Persian people - and hope that one day they will get their wish of a more fair and representative government that reflects the will of the masses, not the messes.
The week following the stolen vote election saw massive demonstrations that were quickly snuffed with brutality. Iran is no North Korea, and it was impossible for the lying state media to spew its propaganda about the deaths (the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan is a particularly chilling example of how the State's position of her death being caused by unruly mobs was quickly refuted by the video placed on YouTube. WARNING: that video is extremely graphic and soul-suckingly sad).
We are a week away from the next presidential election in Iran. After finishing this book I searched online for as much info as I could find on the candidates. Only those candidates chosen by the six member Muslim council may be considered as candidates, and it looks like this year the Ayatollah Khamenei has been certain to keep all true reformists off the docket and avoid another 2009.
I'm just now finishing Herodotus' "Histories" and I've learned so much about the Persian history; a place rich in culture and a proud heritage. It is sad how much I have been negatively molded by Western media about Iran. I want to read more books like this about the Persian people - and hope that one day they will get their wish of a more fair and representative government that reflects the will of the masses, not the messes.
September 17, 2018
A heart wrenching story about a man who participated in the Green Revolution in Iran and whatwas done to him.
November 23, 2023
Horrific! But powerful!
May 8, 2013
Although this is a very important book that I think everyone should read, I could not give it a higher rating because the style was stilted, sometimes unclear. The author mangled English idioms in ways that were too distracting to the reader and did not make any sense. Still this book does serve as a wake up call and an important introduction to the events of 2009.
May 14, 2020
Was this book written by someone paid by the CIA?
April 14, 2021
I listened to the unabridged audio version of this title (read by Johnny Heller, Tantor Audio, 2010).
To vote or not to vote, that is the question faced by many Iranians ever since the Islamic form of government took hold in 1979. Many voters boycott the sham elections in which only candidates that pass the ideological and loyalty filters of Iran’s Guardians Council are allowed to compete. So, the people’s choice is always between bad and worse. Others argue that some level of choice is better than no choice at all, thus urging voters to go to the polls and elect “reformist” candidates promising to improve the system from within.
It is in this context that the fact-based story’s protagonist, Mohsen Abbaspour (which is a pseudonym, as is the author’s name, because of the danger of what s/he reveals), decides to cast a vote for the reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, running as part of the “Green Movement” against the incumbent Mahmoud Ahamadinejad in 2009. Amid accusations of widespread election fraud (a stolen or “engineered” election), Ahmadinejad declares himself the clear winner almost immediately after the polls close.
Mohsen and many other people take to the streets, chanting “Death to the Dictator!” and “Where Is My Vote?” Hooligans and plainclothes security forces, with help from rooftop sharpshooters, attack the crowd, chasing them on the streets, beating them, destroying their property, and marking their homes for retaliation. Many protesters die and an even larger number are arrested. Eventually, Ahmadinejad falls out of favor with Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and others who committed fraud on his behalf to allow a calamitous presidency to continue for a second 4-year term.
Immediately after the protests, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, his wife, and Mehdi Karroubi (another “Green Movement” candidate), are placed under house arrests, without trials or even clearly-enunciated charges. These house arrests continue to this date, some 12 years later. Mohsen is caught up in a series of events that upend his life and those of his family. The book’s writing is problematic, but the story it tells is compelling.
To vote or not to vote, that is the question faced by many Iranians ever since the Islamic form of government took hold in 1979. Many voters boycott the sham elections in which only candidates that pass the ideological and loyalty filters of Iran’s Guardians Council are allowed to compete. So, the people’s choice is always between bad and worse. Others argue that some level of choice is better than no choice at all, thus urging voters to go to the polls and elect “reformist” candidates promising to improve the system from within.
It is in this context that the fact-based story’s protagonist, Mohsen Abbaspour (which is a pseudonym, as is the author’s name, because of the danger of what s/he reveals), decides to cast a vote for the reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, running as part of the “Green Movement” against the incumbent Mahmoud Ahamadinejad in 2009. Amid accusations of widespread election fraud (a stolen or “engineered” election), Ahmadinejad declares himself the clear winner almost immediately after the polls close.
Mohsen and many other people take to the streets, chanting “Death to the Dictator!” and “Where Is My Vote?” Hooligans and plainclothes security forces, with help from rooftop sharpshooters, attack the crowd, chasing them on the streets, beating them, destroying their property, and marking their homes for retaliation. Many protesters die and an even larger number are arrested. Eventually, Ahmadinejad falls out of favor with Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and others who committed fraud on his behalf to allow a calamitous presidency to continue for a second 4-year term.
Immediately after the protests, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, his wife, and Mehdi Karroubi (another “Green Movement” candidate), are placed under house arrests, without trials or even clearly-enunciated charges. These house arrests continue to this date, some 12 years later. Mohsen is caught up in a series of events that upend his life and those of his family. The book’s writing is problematic, but the story it tells is compelling.
October 13, 2020
A great book for people interested in recent Middle Eastern events, accounts of political dissent, and stories that keep you engaged throughout. This is a fantastic book.
September 26, 2017
Mi aspettavo ben di più da questo libro. Una riflessione (a senso unico) sui brogli elettorali e le manifestazioni di piazza durante il giugno del 2009. Molta contestazione -giustificata, ci mancherebbe- ma nulla di più. Manca un'idea, un pensiero, una motivazione per il rilancio, per superare la delusione, per il futuro: questo l'autore non lo scrive mai. Peccato.
May 8, 2017
This was an interesting book of events of a young man who supported Mousavi against Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election. He took part in street protests when the returns were in revealing that Ahmadinejad had won decisively when it was evident living in Iran that the opposition had much more support going into the election. He did pay a dear price with unthinkably abusive torture after being arrested. It confirms the worst of the reports of brutality that is inflicted on anyone questioning the Islamist regime in Iran, even against their own countrymen. The book does not go deeply into the religion and the rationale for the Islamist beliefs as the author indicated he was not deep into Islam but was rising up along with many others because of the repression of freedom. It is apparent that inside Iran there are divisions and differing opinions that are squelched by the totalitarian Islamist regime. While I did not find the book inspiring, it was a very interesting look at what is going on on the streets of Tehran at this point.
September 21, 2013
The harrowing and depressing story, from a reformist point of view, of how presidential incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad corrupted the 2009 Iranian general election, and the terrible price paid by many Iranians who campaigned and voted for the reformist movement.
The story is told from the point of view of a forward, outward looking young Iranian man. A man who holds the same hopes and dreams as young people in other countries do, to work fairly for a fair wage, to travel to other countries, to be able to think and say and write what he wishes without fear of censure or violent reprisal.
What happens to this happy and profoundly ordinary young man is horrifying and sickening. A powerful read, even if the title is a little misleading.
The story is told from the point of view of a forward, outward looking young Iranian man. A man who holds the same hopes and dreams as young people in other countries do, to work fairly for a fair wage, to travel to other countries, to be able to think and say and write what he wishes without fear of censure or violent reprisal.
What happens to this happy and profoundly ordinary young man is horrifying and sickening. A powerful read, even if the title is a little misleading.
July 6, 2012
It is a devastating short book and illustrates why there exists a complete disillusion of many of Iran's youth for the Ahmadinejad government, and now probably for Khamanei as well. Told through a disturbing experience of one of many young men who were unfortunate enough to be caught protesting against the government and having his youth and innocence raped in police custody.
Seemingly all books written of Iranian politics are on a macro level. This book's uniqueness comes from being written by a lad who explains his involvement in the campaign of an opposition politician at the grassroots level, and the government's brutal crackdown on all who dared oppose it.
Seemingly all books written of Iranian politics are on a macro level. This book's uniqueness comes from being written by a lad who explains his involvement in the campaign of an opposition politician at the grassroots level, and the government's brutal crackdown on all who dared oppose it.
October 27, 2013
Dystopia!
After reading this short account of the demonstrations which took place in 2009 after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hijacked the Iranian presidential election, "dystopia" is the best word I can think of to describe Iran.
This little book will show you just what it's like to live in an Orwellian society that is completely controlled by "Big Brother." In fact, having recently finished reading "1984," this story seems like a continuation of the same story or a sequel to it.
Death! Brutal beatings! Brain washing! Whatever it takes to silence the people.
That's what the Iranian regime is all about.
"1984" and "Farenheit 451" combined!
After reading this short account of the demonstrations which took place in 2009 after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hijacked the Iranian presidential election, "dystopia" is the best word I can think of to describe Iran.
This little book will show you just what it's like to live in an Orwellian society that is completely controlled by "Big Brother." In fact, having recently finished reading "1984," this story seems like a continuation of the same story or a sequel to it.
Death! Brutal beatings! Brain washing! Whatever it takes to silence the people.
That's what the Iranian regime is all about.
"1984" and "Farenheit 451" combined!
August 23, 2010
This book is the true story of what happened to one of the Green Revolution protesters in Tehran after the fraudulent presidential election in 2009. Although it was a difficult story, I believe it's important for the world to see how the Iranian government is treating is own citizens. The sooner the Islamic Republic becomes a democracy, the better for the people of Persia.
February 7, 2014
Great snapshot of the protests in Iran over government elections and accountability. Told from one person's perspective that conveys the isolation, uncertainty, and misinformation that the protesters faced.
January 31, 2015
It was a great depiction of modern politics in the Middle East, specifically in Iran; and, the struggle of trying to gain identity and recognition in global society from their coerced and corrupt leaders.
November 12, 2010
Although the accuracy of this book could be questioned, it's a riveting and frightening tale of political activism in a country where you can be prosecuted for such a thing.
August 30, 2013
3.5 stars. A brief but terrifying glimpse into what living in a real dictatorship is like. Besides the fear, violence and intimidation, the loss of hope is so palpable.
May 19, 2015
Not current, but it gives you a look at the real people who live in Iran, and it makes you realize that the media and politicians are your real enemies, not the people.
June 24, 2012
A skin-and-bones novel/memoir that is worth reading if nothing more for its cultural importance.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews