Ali Afshari ( fa, علی افشاری; born 1973 in Qazvin) is an Iranian activist.
For ten years, Afshari campaigned for reform-minded leaders and change within the
Islamic Republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
, with posts including membership on the Central Council of
Office for Strengthening Unity and membership on the Central Council of the Islamic Student Association at the
Amirkabir University of Technology
Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) ( fa, دانشگاه صنعتی امیرکبیر), also called the Tehran Polytechnic, is a public technological university located in Tehran, Iran. Founded in 1928, AUT is the second oldest technical univ ...
, where he served as the secretary of the association for three years. He was a
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
.
Biography
From 1995 to 1999, Afshari was a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Student Association at Amirkabir University of Technology, serving as the Secretary of the Association. From 1999 to 2004, he was a member of the Central Council of the Office to Foster Unity National Islamic Student Association (Daftar- Tahkim-e Vahdat). From 1996 to 1997, Afshari was the coordinator of Khatami’s Student Political Campaign where he coordinated student activities and gatherings in support of Khatami’s presidential election nationally in 30 universities. From 2000 to 2003, he was imprisoned by the Islamic Republic of Iran for political crimes, including activities against national security. 400 of these days were spent in solitary confinement.
From 2000 to 2003, Afshari was arrested by the Islamic Republic on four occasions and imprisoned on charges that he was threatening the national security of the country through his role in pro-democracy programs on college campuses. During this time, he served 400 days in solitary confinement, including 328 days consecutively. On May 16, 2001, following five months in detention and before being charged or brought to trial, he appeared on Iranian state television confessing to a plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and apologizing to the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, for his mistakes.
[NPR, ''Morning Edition'', 2007-07-19] This confession was broadcast across Iran and garnered attention from the public.
In 2008, in interviews with the
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) is a registered non-profit organization based in New Haven, Connecticut. IHRDC was founded in 2004 by a group of human rights scholars, activists, American government interest advocators, and hist ...
, Afshari stated that he gave the confession after repeated beatings, threats of beatings, sleep deprivation and threats that his family would be harmed.
[Witness Statement: Ali Afshari](_blank)
, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Interviews, Feb., Sept. and Oct. 2008
Advocacy
After completing his Masters of Science in Industrial Engineering at the
Amirkabir University of Technology
Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) ( fa, دانشگاه صنعتی امیرکبیر), also called the Tehran Polytechnic, is a public technological university located in Tehran, Iran. Founded in 1928, AUT is the second oldest technical univ ...
(Tehran Polytechnic) in 2004, Afshari has traveled to Ireland and the United States in an effort to divulge his views on the wrongdoings of the Iranian government. Afshari has published his views in over forty essays and papers including Roozonline, Gooya news and has been profiled by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The event was sponsored by The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Iranian Students for Democracy and Human Rights. Their talk provided information on human rights abuses in Iran and detailed the progress of Iran ’s pro-democracy movement as well as the hurdles confronting it.