The man known as the "Vaclav Havel of the Middle East" appears to have been released at last by the Iranian regime:
Iran's famous journalist Akbar Ganji has been freed after six years behind bars, his lawyer has said.
"Ganji was freed late Friday after spending about six years in jail," his lawyer Yousef Mowlaei told The Associated Press.
Ganji was jailed in 2000 for linking senior officials to the murder of dissidents in some of his articles. He wrote that murders of five dissidents were carried out by Intelligence Ministry agents and became a hero to the country's reformists...
The Iranian journalist went on a hunger strike for more than 80 days from May 19, 2005 until early August, 2005 [see photo above]... Ganji criticised Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and asked for his office to be put to public vote, which led to his re-arrest by Saeed Mortazavi, the general prosecutor of Tehran.
Ganji returned to prison voluntarily on June 11, 2005 and started another hunger strike.
For some "strange" reason the Al-Jazeera report suddenly adds in Cindy Sheehan at the end, trying to compare Sheehan to Ganji. Is that supposed to soften the blow? After all, Ganji is a hero to reformers across the region, and the regime's decision to honor his scheduled release date is a victory for non-violent pressure on the regime. Dictators everywhere cannot be happy. So a little dose of Cindy helps the medicine go down.
For Middle East civil rights reformers, this is a huge breakthrough. It's worth a moment to celebrate. (Read a translation of Ganji's writing on reform, The Republican Manifesto II.)
Comments