Mr. Shakeri: I feel fine. I'm enjoying the company of my family and friends, and specially spending time with my wife. I've also been returning to my personal and social activities and working for peace and dialogue. It has all been helping me to recover and feel better.

Mr. Salar: Are you the "same" person now that you were prior to your imprisonment? Has your thinking changed? If so, how has it changed?

Mr. Shakeri: I have not, in a contradictory way, changed. Yes, I've been changed, but in ways that are complimentary. In other words, I would like to work towards more dialogue, towards more relationships, towards more understanding, and away from sanctions and a military attacks or confrontation. These are things that I've promoted in the past and would like to promote more of in the future.

Mr. Salar: Do you view this event as one of "misfortune" or, perhaps in some way, one of "fortune," given that certain events can have positive effects that one can neither view nor understand before or during the event itself? Or, perhaps it is a more mixed blessing?

Mr. Shakeri: I'm not quite sure of all the affects it has had on me. When you're in solitary confinement, you don't have life there, you don't live there, you survive there. If you can that is. The loneliness creates a lot of difficult points and difficult situations in your life. But what I'm doing, trying to do now, I'm trying to take the ugly parts, put it in a cell and close the door. I'm trying to learn from my experience and change it in a better way, and not feel victimized. In this regard I would like to work towards creating a situation where there will not be more victims in the future who get caught up in the confrontation between Iran and the U.S.

Mr. Salar: It is clear that your love for your wife and children were an important source of strength for you while at Evin Prison. How did they cope with your imprisonment? How did you draw strength from them and how important was this to you?

Mr. Shakeri: I know they went through hell. And, I know the 140 days was disastrous for them. When I was there I was always thinking about their love. And I know that they were waiting for me. One of the books that I read in prison that inspired me was a piece written by Albert Camus called "The Misunderstanding." It is a French play written in 1943. It says that when someone has people or a person waiting on him, he's not going to give up so easily. That was encouraging to me, to not think about the bad moments, especially during the loneliness, the harsh interrogations and the uncertainty. The love of my family and friends, especially my wife, waiting for me, encouraged me to stand up and be myself and keep my dignity and resist the uglier thoughts which came to my mind when I was lonely in prison.

Mr. Salar: While you were in prison, you may have had little to no contact with the outside world. There were many people and organizations working for your release. Did you know anything of U.S. government or AIC actions, or those of your family? What did you hear from the outside, if anything?

Mr. Shakeri: I was completely cut off from the outside world. I couldn't get news, magazines, newspapers, radio, or television, and I wasn't allowed visitations by any family or friends. I had no idea what was going on outside. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts and support both inside and outside Iran, especially those of my family, my wife and my two sons. I will always be grateful for everyone's efforts. As you mentioned this includes the AIC and Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi and his work through the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mr. Khazaee. And, also the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at UCI. Many things were done and I appreciate every one of them.

Mr. Salar: Of particular difficulty must have been the time in solitary confinement. What were your greatest sources of strength in these days? What did you find the hardest to deal with?

Mr. Shakeri: In solitary confinement there definitely is not much to do. Every day or every other day I would be interrogated and left alone in the cell. There are three things which I felt were the hardest to cope with. I mentioned uncertainty, you don't know what's going to happen to you. I didn't know if I would ever see life outside of prison. The second thing was loneliness. Loneliness is very tough for those who are imprisoned. During my periods of loneliness, I was able to recognize that my problem was a small part of a larger international problem, specifically the confrontational relationship between Iran and the U.S. This helped me realize more than ever that there needs to be more dialogue and peace between the two countries otherwise both nations will suffer and more innocent victims will be caught up in this confrontation. It made me think about greater problems and not just my own personal problems. The third hardest thing was the interrogations. Although the interrogators did not curse at me they were harsh and at times insulting and I was forced to face the wall and never see their faces during the interrogation process. The combination of these three things was difficult so I tried to stay as occupied as I could. I exercised in the room by pacing back and forth and doing push ups. I asked for books and I read 37 books. Also, although 114 days I was completely by myself, two times, each for 10-12 days I was in another cell with a cellmate and a shower and toilet. The first 10-12 days I did not have television but at least I had someone to speak to and a newspaper to read. The next 10-12 days I was in a cell that had a television to watch. During that time I was watching Iranian mini-series, one of which was called the Forbidden Fruit or "Miveh Mamnooeh", and a couple specials on the month of Ramadan. On top of that I watched translated reruns of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and a documentary showing lectures from Noam Chomsky. Watching these things, and any type of stimulation was very welcomed. Two days before I was released they transferred me to another smaller cell about 2.5 by 3.5 yards. My roommate was a smoker, and all my life I hated second hand smoke, but I much preferred having a smoker cellmate than being by myself.

Mr. Salar: Do you consider this torture?

Mr. Shakeri: I was not physically harmed and I never used the word torture. I always expressed the fact that I was in solitary confinement. And solitary confinement and certain harsh interrogations every day or every other day is not something to appreciate. I'm trying to be positive and leave all the ugly things in the cell. I don't hold any grudges whatsoever toward anyone including the security guards, the medical providers, or the food servers as they were doing their jobs. I don't like to use the word torture, I leave that up to others to decide what it was.

Mr. Salar: Why do you believe you were selected to be imprisoned? Do you think that this purpose was accomplished? Do you think that, as international pressure rose, the original purpose of imprisoning you and the other Americans was overridden and the costs simply became too high? In short, why do you believe you were released?

Mr. Shakeri: I can't speak for others, but if you are asking about me, I think they wanted to send a message both domestically and internationally. They wanted to send a message to the reformists' that were taking power in Iran that the reformist era is over. Unfortunately the current confrontational environment between the US and Iran has empowered them to silence opposition and suppress human rights under the label of protecting national security. I have been a non-violent peace activist for over ¼ century and by arresting me they wanted to send a message that when it comes to these types of situations the fundamentalists will have no tolerance. Ultimately, I've been released because they're investigation of me convinced them that I am not a national security threat. Their interrogations as well as international pressure and the efforts of friends, family, and organizations inside and outside contributed to that understanding.

Mr. Salar: Many persons who have been imprisoned sometimes take on some of the views of their captors. This is known as the "Stockholm Syndrome." Do you believe that any of your current views may be a function of this syndrome? If not, then what protected you from it?

Mr. Shakeri: I recognize that this does happen to prisoners but in my case I don't believe imprisonment has affected me in that way. I have developed my views over the course of 46 years and I believe in them very strongly. Humans are creatures of habit and I think it would have taken a lot more for a 59 year old man in my position to change course.

Mr. Salar: The AIC believes in the importance of peace, dialogue and understanding. These values are critical if two sides, no matter how far apart, are to achieve a relationship of mutual respect and development. Do these values seem sufficient to you or would you like to add anything to them that you believe may help the U.S. and Iran learn to become better partners? (24:30)

Mr. Shakeri: I share these values with the AIC and I respect and admire all the work done by the AIC. What I've been doing and what I've been encouraging is Dialogue, Normalization, and Peaceful Engagement. I am afraid that if these two nations don't move forward in this manner it is a big loss for both sides. When the revolution started 1979 in Iran there were misunderstandings and they called America the Great Satan. And now there are misunderstandings of Iran as they were called the Axis of Evil by President Bush. There were many opportunities that were missed on both sides to better the relationship. The AIC mobilized and created a situation in March 2000 where Madeleine Albright apologized to Iranians for the Coup in 1953 by the British and the CIA. That was a great time for Iran to make amends. Another example was on Frontline on PBS television a couple of weeks ago when Colonel Richard Armitage the deputy secretary of state with General Colin Powell said that there was an offer by the previous Iranian administration led by Khatami called the "Grand Bargain." In this offer Iran would cooperate with the US for peace in the Middle East and help the US with Iraq. As Colonel Armitage stated, the US was going to take Iran's offer but powers above him wouldn't allow it because the White House wanted a regime change in Iran. Unfortunately, the United States missed out on this opportunity to increase dialogue, much like Iran missed out on previous opportunities. Passing a resolution in US senate calling the Iranian revolutionary guard a terrorist organization is like calling the government of Iran a terrorist government. These are words that step toward a war. That is why what the AIC does and what the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding has been doing and what those in Iran's mainstream are trying to do by creating dialogue is very important.

Mr. Salar: Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up

Mr. Shakeri: I would like to thank the AIC and everyone who helped me through this whole ordeal. Thank you for helping the progression of peace, human rights, and democracy and I wish everyone well.

Mr. Salar: Thank you for everything Mr. Shakeri, your story is one
of valor and inspiration. On behalf of everyone at the AIC I wish you
and your family well in all future endeavors. I would also like to take this opportunity to advise readers that they can still send their letters of support to Shakeri@us-iran.org

Mr. Shakeri: Thank you Sherwin. I look forward to hearing from you
and the rest of the AIC in the near future. Good luck and take care.