Akbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Iranian |
Alma mater | University of Tehran[1] |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer |
Awards | World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award, Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, Milton Friedman Prize, John Humphrey Freedom Award |
Military career | |
Service/ | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
Years of service | 1980–1984 |
Akbar Ganji (
Having been named honorary citizen of many European cities and awarded distinctions for his writing and civil,
Early life
Ganji grew up in a devout, impoverished family in
In 1994–5, Ganji became disenchanted with the government. "I saw fascism and political
Investigation of the Chain Murders of Iran
Ganji has written extensively as a journalist in a series of reformist newspapers, many of which were shut down by the
In December 2000, after his arrest (see below), Akbar Ganji announced the "Master Key" to the chain of murders was former Intelligence Minister
Collections of his articles appeared in books, notably,
Arrest and imprisonment
Ganji took part in a
Like other political prisoners before him, Ganji wrote from his prison cell. His political manifestos and open letters were smuggled out of jail and published on the internet,[5] – two letters "to the free people of the world":.[18][19]
In his last year in prison, Ganji went on a hunger strike for more than 80 days, from 19 May 2005 until early August 2005,[20] except for 12 days of leave he was granted on 30 May 2005 ahead of the ninth presidential elections on 17 June 2005. His hunger strike ended after 50 days when "doctors warned he would sustain irreparable brain damage, and he relented."[21] Many Iranians had not heard of the hunger strike due to press censorship[21] and heavy security and information quarantine in Milad Hospital in Tehran. His hunger strike mobilized the international human rights community, "including eight former Nobel Peace laureates. Thousands of intellectuals and human rights activists worldwide spoke out on his behalf. It is generally believed that the global support generated for Ganji during this period spared his life."[5]
He was represented by a group of lawyers, including Dr. Yousef Molaei, Abdolfattah Soltani (who was arrested and put in solitary confinement in 2005 on unknown charges), and the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Shirin Ebadi.
In his recent leave in June 2005, Ganji participated in interviews with several news agencies, criticizing
Release
Ganji was released from prison in poor health on 18 March 2006, after serving the full term of his six-year sentence, according to his family and various count-downs set up on many Iranian weblogs. At the same time, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran,
In June 2006 Ganji left Iran. Since then, he has been writing and giving talks in Europe and North America, speaking out for the movement for democracy in Iran and against any U.S. military attack on his country.[5]
Views
Ganji's writings in prison were smuggled out and widely distributed, especially on the web. Most notably, he wrote a Republican Manifesto in six chapters in March 2002, laying out the basis of his proposal for a fully-fledged democratic republic for Iran. In particular, he argued that all elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran must be boycotted. He later wrote a second book[23] of his Republican Manifesto in May 2005, ahead of the ninth Presidential elections in Iran, specifically arguing for a complete boycott of the presidential elections.
In April 2008, Ganji's first book in English appeared in Boston Review Books/MIT Press: The Road to Democracy in Iran, with an introduction by Joshua Cohen and Abbas Milani.[24]
Iraq War
Ganji opposed the United States
In 2006, Akbar Ganji started a tour to visit world-leading philosophers, theorists, and human rights activists. He aims to introduce Iranian intellectual movements and democratic circles to world-leading thinkers. He met many famous figures as
Despite repeated invitations, he refused to meet with any member of the administration of US President George W. Bush on the principle that the struggle for democracy in Iran must be waged from within the country, without foreign governmental support.[5][26] He also refused to meet with White House officials, citing his belief that current US policies were not helping promote democracy in Iran. He said, "You cannot bring democracy to a country by attacking it". He also added that the war in Iraq was promoting Islamic fundamentalism and hurting movements toward democracy in the region.
Ganji declared that his role was as a dissident and journalist rather than the official voice for a specific opposition party or faction within Iran, which he explained was one reason for his refusal to meet with US political leaders and officeholders.
During his visit he criticized the Iraq War, asserting that rather than undermining the current Iranian regime, it had bolstered its capacity to repress and terrorize its population.
We do not want the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, this is our problem. Any intervention by any foreign power would bring charges of conspiracy against us... What has happened in Iraq did not support our movement significantly.[27]
2009 election protests
Ganji has strongly supported the
Awards and honors
- PENAmerica, Honorary member (2000)
- International Press Freedom Award(2000)
- The Middle East Studies Association of North America, MESA Academic Freedom Prize(2005)
- Press Freedom Award, Italy (2005)
- Golden Pen of Freedom(2006)
- Honorary citizen of the city of Florence, Italy (2006)
- Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (2006)
- National Press Club, John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award (2006)
- Rights & Democracy (2007)[28]
- Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty(2010)
- World Press Freedom Hero, International Press Institute (2010)[29]
See also
- 2nd of Khordad Movement
- Defenders of Human Rights Center
- History of political Islam in Iran
- Human rights in Islamic Republic of Iran
- Abbas Amir-Entezam
- Abdolkarim Soroush
- Mehrangiz Kar
- Saeed Hajjarian
References
- ISBN 978-1-59884-425-2.
- ^ "Inside".
- ^ "Akbar Ganji – BetterWorldHeroes.com – Biography". Betterworld.net. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Biography: Akbar Ganji". Cato Institute. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kahn, Paul W. (23 December 2008). "Akbar Ganji in conversation with Charles Taylor". Ssrc.org. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ "Iranian dissident freed from jail". BBC News. 18 March 2006.
- ^ Ebadi, Shirin, Iran Awakening, by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, Random House, New York, 2006, p.193
- ^ "Iranian Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike Nears Death". NPR. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Katajun Amirpur, Akbar Ganji: Beggars of the state". signandsight. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Prominent Iranian Journalist Receives Press Freedom Award in Moscow". Payvand. 5 June 2006. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Akbar Ganji" (PDF). Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, 2005, p. 156
- ^ UC Berkeley, CMES Newsletter. Spring 2007, Akbar Ganji visits Berkeley Archived 13 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "GANJI Iran Press Service, Dec 2000, IDENTIFIED FALLAHIAN AS THE "MASTER KEY" IN CHAIN MURDERS". Iran-press-service.com. 21 November 1998. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ boell.de
- ^ Letter to the Free People of the World, 1 July 2005 Archived 17 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Second Letter to the Free People of the World, 15 July 2005 Archived 17 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "IFEX, 25 mai 2005, Imprisoned journalist Akbar Ganji launches hunger strike". Ifex.org. 25 May 2005. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ a b Ebadi, Shirin, Iran Awakening, by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, Random House New York, 2006, p. 194
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 June 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2005.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ 18 June 2005 Republican Manifesto II Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Road to Democracy in Iran Archived 3 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The MIT Press
- ^ Changing Iran: An Interview with Akbar Ganji Archived 1 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Boston Review
- ^ Homaee, Daryoush (25 July 2006). "BBC, 25 July 2006, Iran activist 'snubs White House'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ "Iran dissident says Iraq war not helping cause". NBC News. 16 July 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ "John Humphrey Freedom Award 2009". Rights & Democracy. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ "World Press Freedom Heroes: Symbols of courage in global journalism". International Press Institute. 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (October 2017) |
- Official website Freedom is not free – Akbar Ganji's website (under construction)
- CJFE Calls for Ganji's Release
- Ganji and other dissidents silenced ahead of elections, IFEX
- Ganji in hunger strike, Human Rights Watch: Leading Dissident's Life in Danger.
- Iran: Radio Farda Interview With Dissident Akbar Ganji
- Second Letter written on the 30th day of hunger strike
- BBC profile
- Iran activist 'snubs White House' BBC article on Ganji declining a White House invitation
- The View from Tehran from May/June 2007 Boston Review
- The US and the Plight of the Iranians – A letter to Ban Ki-moon published in the NY Review of Books (Volume 54, Number 18)
- Conversations with History, Islam and Democracy
- Changing Iran: May 2008 Interview with Akbar Ganji (interviewed by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, Associate Editor of Boston Review Books)