Friends of Azam Attarzadeh know her as Shahrbanoo. She was born in 1961 in Boroujerd, in western Lorestan Province.
She continued her high school education until graduation, and then worked in a cultural-educational center where she became acquainted with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and started her struggle for freedom.
Azam was arrested and imprisoned on September 8, 1981, for propaganda activities against Khomeini. For 7 years, she was tortured in prison. Yet Azam had a high spirit: she would make sweets to create a happy atmosphere during celebrations or holidays.
Azam never surrendered to prison officials. She was strong and resilient, and because of her strength, prison agents often pressured her by transferring her into solitary confinement.
One of her fellow prisoners said, “Shahrbanoo’s cell was next to mine in Gohardasht prison in 1987. We communicated through Morse code. We woke up in the morning. After sports, we exchanged news and sometimes discussed various social and political issues. She had deep thoughts and clear positions, and she had the most accurate analysis of the situation.”
Another prisoner wrote in her memoirs, “On Shahrbanoo’s spine was a large gland that, if hit, would paralyze her and cause her severe pain. When the guards tried to pressure her, they inflicted relentless blows to her spine. I witnessed this once.”
Azam Attarzadeh’s sentence ended on September 8, 1988. As her family was preparing for her release, the regime was busy with the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.
Prison officials in Evin Prison hanged Azam, only 27, even though she was due to be released.
About 2 or 3 months later, prison officials told the family to come and get their daughter’s belongings. But they did not give the family any other information, leaving them in shock and disbelief at the loss of their daughter.
