Akbar Ganji

In 2003, the Iranian-Canadian photographer, Zahra Kazemi, was killed during her stay at the infamous Evin prison in Iran. She was in Iran to take photos of a demonstration for students jailed in Evin, with the permission of government officials. But, she was accused of taking pics of the prison and apparently this is a crime. During her prison stay she was beaten to death. The two Iranian intelligence agents charged with her death were cleared and aquitted. But recently a retrial has been called because of "some procedural faults". Perhaps soon Kazemi will finally have justice served on her behalf.

This is one of the more famous violations of human rights in Iran. But it really is just a drop in the bucket.

On November 30th, the Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, will be giving a talk titled "The Challenges of Journalism in Iran" at Simon Fraser University and he will certainly discuss human rights in Iran.

"Mr. Ganji, a well-known journalist and author and former Revolutionary Guard turned activist, will share his insights about the relationship between human rights & civil liberties, and the challenges against free expression and investigative journalism in Iran."

"Akbar Ganji spent six years in Tehran's infamous Evin prison on charges stemming from a series of investigative articles exposing the complicity of then-President Rafsanjani and other leading members of the conservative clergy in the murders of political dissidents and intellectuals in 1998."

"During his time in prison, Mr. Ganji undertook a hunger strike that lasted from May to August 2005. He also produced a series of influential political manifestos and open letters calling for Iran's secularization and the establishment of democracy through mass civil disobedience. The works were smuggled out of prison and published on the Internet."

I'm really looking forward to this talk.