December 29, 1953 — U.S. Editorial
| The Mossadegh Project | December 23, 2015 |
This non-syndicated editorial was published in numerous U.S. newspapers.
A Proper Blow
When it was announced some months ago that former Premier Mossadegh of Iran would be tried for treason, many around the globe probably assumed he would in the end be put to death. Thus his three-year sentence at the hands of a military tribunal seems remarkably mild.
But for a man of the aged premier’s inclinations, the sentence may be tougher than it looks. For the court decreed that it must be served in solitary confinement.
At various times in the trial, Mossadegh shouted, screamed, cried, collapsed, fainted, denounced the judge, announced plans to commit suicide, announced a hunger strike. It was the climax of his “dramatic” career.
No crueler blow could have been struck at him than to deprive him of his audience at the very moment of his most memorable histrionic triumphs.
One suspects that as his trial wore on the prosecutors quietly added another count to his indictment—ham acting. For that, three years in solitary is perhaps the perfect working of justice.
Alternate titles:
The Shamokin News-Dispatch (Shamokin, Pennsylvania) — December 29, 1953 (title: A Proper Sentence)
The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) — December 29, 1953 (title: Blow For Mossadegh)
The Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas) — December 30, 1953
The Sherbrooke Daily Record (Sherbrooke, Canada) — December 30, 1953
The Miami Daily News-Record (Miami, Oklahoma) — December 31, 1953
The Ironwood Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan) — December 31, 1953
The Statesville Daily Record (Statesville, North Carolina) — January 1, 1954
The News-Herald (Franklin, Pennsylvania) — Jan. 2, 1954 (titled THREE YEARS FOR MOSSADEGH)
The Grape Belt and Chautauqua Farmer (Dunkirk, New York) — January 5, 1954 (lead editorial)
The Florence Times (Florence, Alabama) — January 11, 1954
The Mt. Vernon Register-News (Mt. Vernon, Illinois) — January 18, 1954
The Camden News (Camden, Arkansas) — February 10, 1954
Related links:
Dr. Mossadegh’s ‘Historic Glory’ | Washington Evening Star, Dec. 27, 1953
Let’s Rassle | December 7, 1953 editorial
This Is A Trial? | The Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 4, 1953
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
