Day 111 (Iran): Yazd - Tehran (on a night train)

I meet Ali I in the morning at the main square, not far from where I am staying in a hotel. We go to his friend’s office and have one of the most open discussions I could have dreamed of. Hence no real names here, I never wanted to know the lawyer’s real name. He is extremely open about his job and Ali I says not to worry from the start out. We begin withe the usual stuff to sort of break the ice, I am uncertain where this will be heading. I would be happy with answers about the legal system and education (I am geeky I know), but we move beyond this pretty quickly. I ask about his life as a lawyer and some of the difficulties he is facing. He reports about pressure in certain cases he has taken on. Pressure from government officials and others to move a certain way. He has also represented rape victims, a case he knew he would lose for his client. It cannot be won. There were clear evidentiary elements (mole in certain places and the like), but the Sharia didn’t allow a conviction unless four witnesses could testify to that extent. Hard to do in most rape cases I would think. That was his thought also, as well as that of the judge. He couldn’t do anything though. Ali III (let’s call him that for lack of imaginative names on my part) says that the judge was sympathetic, sent the man to a doctor to clarify the location of the mole and to put it into the verdict. But he knew that he couldn’t go further. Any contrary decision would have been certainly overruled. My question as to whether there is any way to change the law in this regard is met with an incredulous smile by Ali I and Ali III. “You have to understand, Markus: if that were to happen the powers would put into question their very raison d’etre. They would never do that. The God-derived laws can’t be changed - and any attempt would be interpreted as a move away from the God-given order, which would lead to the collapse of the whole system.” There are many more questions and Prof. Friedman would have been proud of me (only a slight bit of irony here).

I spend the rest of the day escaping the heat in the Yazd Water Museum (actually more impressive than it sounds as it depicts age old underground irrigation canals covering large distances) and some more internet time at a reasonable connection.

On the way out of my hotel I meet Angie, a Scottish-Australian combo who is not too thrilled with her hotel choice. After a bit of a wander to try to see what one of the water towers looks like from the inside, we discover a really nice hotel at a very reasonable price for her. So while I get my stuff from the reception, she is sneaking into her room to get her belongings out (all within eyesight of the reception). I pull the guy over to a map and ask all sorts of silly questions and she makes it out (she didn’t have to submit her passport yet). The rooms in the hotel were amazing and everything very modern. I somehow get to the train station (bit of a in-and-out of cars) and end up in a compartment with five Iranians who can’t not stare at me. Thank goodness this is a sleeper train and we will be out soon … or so I am hoping at this point.