Hostage – an institute that apparently came to existence along with human civilization. Both divine and human laws have failed in removing that institute from the life of our otherwise human society.

There has been some “progress” during the development of our civilization, after all. These days, if a physical person takes someone as a hostage, it is a crime with a high punishment.

And what if the hostage is taken by a legal entity, like the state ?! The state will be labeled as a “slaver”, the state of crime, and international sanctions against that state should be enforced according to international human rights.

Except for the situation when a hostage-taking state is a member of NATO, such as Turkey.

We know from history that hostage was commonly practiced even in Europe, e.g. between France and England, when the English kidnapped a French prince to make the people of his principality give them everything they had to save their prince.

Our generation still can remember the Institute of Hostage from the times of the Cold War when the parties usded to exchange their hostages on bridges.

After the fall of totalitarianism, we were overexcited, full of euphoria, desire for hope, for civilized coexistence, we believed that better, more human times were coming. Were we silly or naïve? Or both?

On September 17, 1992, four Kurds were murdered in the center of the capital of the most powerful country in Europe. The Kurds arrived there as guests, invited for the Congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. One of them, their chairman, was, by accident, my friend Dr. Sharafkandi. Kad Darabi, the assassins’ boss, was sent directly from Tehran and was subsequently arrested. The Iranians immediately figured out how to get him out of Germany. Helmut Hofer, a well-known German businessman, was active in Tehran at that time, and he was commonly known for his affection for beautiful women. So Muslim officials sent one of their Muslim beauties to his apartment – surely with the blessing of Allah? He was subsequently arrested and accused – according the Quran, sent by Allah himself – of adultery, which is severely punished in Iran, a country obedient and faithful to Allah. The punishments are in accordance with Allah Quran. He was placed in the prison, infamous in the world for inhuman treatment of prisoners, it bears a poetic name Evin, which means “love”.

The coalition of the Social Democratic and Green parties were in power in Germany at that time, with Gerhard Schröder as the Prime Minister, Joschka Fischer as the Foreign Minister. Yes, Joschka Fischer, the one who was kicking a policeman who had fallen on the ground, as a member of the rebellious youngsters fighting against injustice in 1968. Fischer, a revolutionary, and Schröder, a democrat, even a social democrat, managed to exchange Hofer for Darabi, which was presented in the world media as an incredible success! Yes, Schröder exchanged the murderer of the guests of his own political party for the businessman.  Yes, the Schröder-Fischer pair “traded” with the Ayatollah regime for innocent Kurdish blood!

Now, brace yourselves! Upon his arrival in Iran, the assassin Darabi, the criminal, was appointed the head of the Human Rights Office in Iran!