Iraj Mesdaghi (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: ایرج مصداقی; born 1960) is an Iranian writer and human rights activist. He has lived in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
since 1994. He supported the
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
before becoming one of its critics. Mesdaghi has written several books and articles on the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners in Iran.
Biography
Mesdaghi was born in 1960 in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. As a teenager, he traveled to the United States to work with the Confederation of Iranian Students to revive the student movement unit. He returned to Iran after the
Iranian revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
. He was imprisoned in the Ghazelhasar,
Evin
Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran.
The district consists of an old section, filled with orchards and gardens of old houses, and a new section, with high rises and skyscrapers.
It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University
Shahid ...
and
Gohardasht
Gohardasht ( fa, گوهردشت), is a neighborhood of Karaj, in Alborz Province of Iran, located on the north side of Karaj.
It is known for the Gohardasht Prison
Gohardasht Prison ( fa, زندان گوهردشت) is a prison in Gohardasht, ...
prisons for over 10 years, from 1981 to 1991, on charges of supporting the PMOI Organization.
While in prison, Mesdaghi survived the
1988 mass executions of political prisoners in Iran. After being released, he was forced to flee from Iran to Sweden in 1994. In Sweden, he continued his work advancing human rights in Iran through work with the
UN Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
, the
International Labor Organization, and the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. He is currently independently engaged in political activity and research.
Mesdaghi is also a member of the "Committee for the Observation and Use of Iranian Justice Data", headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi wa ...
. The Committee helped verify information in a leaked file from the Iranian Judiciary which revealed the extent of the governments political arrests, imprisonments, and executions from 1978 to 2009.
Cinematic presence
Mesdaghi was featured prominently in the documentary''Those Who Said No'', directed by
Nima Sarvestani. The film documents an international investigation of mass executions of political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s. It was shown at the
IDFA.
Bibliography
*''Neither Life Nor Death'' (Persian: ''نه زیستن نه مرگ'')
*''Bar Saghe Tabideh Kanaf'' (Persian: ''برساقه تابیده کنف'')
*''Torture in the Name of Allah'' (Persian: ''دوزخ روی زمین'')
*''violation of fundamental rights of labour in iran'' (Persian: ''نگاهی به سازمان بین‌المللی کار و نقض حقوق بنیادین کار در ایران'')
*''Negahi Ba Cheshme Jan'' (Persian: ''نگاهی با چشم جان'')
*''Raghse Ghoughounosha va Avaze khakestar'' (Persian: ''رقص ققنوس‌ها و آواز خاکستر'')
*''United Nations and violation of Human Rights in Iran'' (Persian: ''سازمان ملل متحد و نقض حقوق بشر در ایران'')
Despite publishing books, Iraj Mesdaghi has published hundreds of articles and reports on human rights and disclosure against Islamic Republic policies.
Iraj Mesdaghi
/ref>
References
External links
Iraj Mesdaghi
on IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesdaghi, Iraj
Prisoners and detainees of Iran
Iranian human rights activists
Iranian expatriates in Sweden
1960 births
Living people