Akbar Ganji
(1960-)

Iranian Journalist, Human Rights Activist
2006 Martin Ennals Human Rights Award Winner
2007 John Humphrey Freedom Award

birthdate: January 31
birthplace: Qazvin, Iran

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Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist who was arrested after writing a series of articles linking Iranian officials to the murders of Iranian writers and intellectuals. While held for six years in prison conditions that were in violation of human rights standards and beaten by guards, his articles about the democratic movement in Iran were smuggled out of prison and published on the internet. After a highly publicized hunger strike and international pressure for his freedom, Akbar Ganji was finally released in March 2006. After recovering, he began lecturing and continued writing about the Iranian intellectual and democratic movements in his country. That year he received the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award and the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders for continuing to stand up for human rights and democracy despite the great risk to his own life.