Yadi Sharifirad, the author of The Flight of the Patriot: Escape from Revolutionary Iran (Thomas Allen, 2010), talks about his memoir about the brutal detention and torture he suffered in Iran, to his escape to Canada, with Joseph Planta.
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The Flight of the Patriot: Escape from Revolutionary Iran by Yadi Sharifirad. (Thomas Allen, 2010)
Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Flight of the Patriot [1] |
Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.
An astonishing book is The Flight of the Patriot: Escape from Revolutionary Iran. Its author Yadi Sharifirad joins me now. He was born and raised in northern Iran, and always wanted to fly like the eagles that he saw. He became a fighter pilot, and he was a hero during Iran’s war with Iraq. He flew dangerous missions and was shot down over enemy territory. Saddam Hussein had a bounty out for him, yet he survived thanks to some sympathetic Kurdish rebels. They made a movie about his life and he was a celebrity in Iran. He became a military attaché to Pakistan, however due to the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini; he was subjected to some unpleasant treatment culminating his arrest in late 1987. He was accused of spying, and was arrested, interrogated, and tortured. He was held captive for more than a year then released. He then decides to flee to Canada, and that journey from there to here is worthy of a film itself. The book reads like a novel in some parts, and it’s a useful and much needed view on to the Iran of then and now. It’s a remarkable, moving story, and it’s published by Thomas Allen. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Yadi Sharifirad; Good morning, Mr. Sharifirad.
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