Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - November 16, 2000 - Hashemi's Continuing Account of the Attempted Hijacking

Funeral and Burial Ceremony for Fatemeh Hashemi Near the Grave of Parvin E'tesami in Qom

Continuing Hashemi's Account of the Attempted Hijacking

Full Entry of the Day:

I went to the home of the late Fatemeh Hashemi. Relatives were gathered, mourning her passing. The body was in the middle of the room, in the same place where Hajieh Valedeh was laid to rest a few years ago. The sense of loss was even more profound. She had suffered from heart problems, but it did not seem life-threatening. A few days earlier, Fatemeh had come to our house after returning from Nogh. They had gone there to harvest pistachios. They mentioned having around 500 mans (a traditional Iranian measurement) of pistachios and planned a trip to Mashhad and for Umrah.

My brother Mohammad recounted that according to his sister Tayebe, who was traveling with her, as soon as the plane landed at Tehran Airport, she took a pill, and without making any sound, her head suddenly slumped to the side. A doctor arrived and said she had suffered a stroke and had passed away.

Brother Mohammad rushed to the airport and upon seeing the scene, he experienced pain in his arms, chest, and back, which was concerning. They immediately connected him to an oxygen cylinder at the airport, and he felt relief. We carried the body to the side of the ambulance on Sa'adatabad Street to transport it to the mosque, and from there, it was taken to Qom for burial. Relatives departed afterward. The arrangement for her grave in the Parvin E'tesami tomb in the courtyard of [Hazrat Masoumeh (s)] had been coordinated by Mohsen over the phone. Later, we were informed that in Qom, Ayatollah [Ali] Meshkini, [the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts], performed the funeral prayer. Iffat and the others returned from Qom that night and recounted how well the arrangements had been made. Fati, who had gone to Qatar for the Islamic Conference leaders' summit, managed to reach Qom and was crying a lot.

News of the hijacking attempt has been released; it is reported that the hijacking group consisted of 15 members, and gunfire occurred from both sides on the plane. Two members of the guard and several hijackers were injured, and all have been detained. In Palestine, six more people have been martyred today.