Mohammad Ghouchani ( fa, محمد قوچانی, born 22 September 1976 in
Rasht) is an Iranian journalist. He has served as editor-in-chief of various
reformist print media, many of which have been banned by the authorities.
Early life and education
Ghouchani was born in 1976
in the city of
Rasht. He graduated from the
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
with a degree in
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
.
Career
He started his career in ''
Jame'eh
''Jame'eh'' ( fa, جامعه, lit=Society) was a Persian language reformist newspaper published in Tehran briefly between February and June 1998. Geneive Abdo described it as the first free newspaper in Iran.
History and profile
''Jameah'' was l ...
'', the most famous among the newspapers that started after the reformer
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...
became the president in 1997. Ghouchani also wrote for ''
Asr-e Azadegan
''Asr-e Azadegan'' ( fa, عصر آزادگان, lit=Times of the Free People) was a Persian-language daily newspaper in Iran published briefly between 1999 and 2000.
History and profile
''Asr-e Azadegan'' was established on 7 October 1999. The f ...
'' and became the "star" of that publication. In 2000, he won political columnist of the year prize at the Iranian Press Festival, but was jailed shortly after for his writings.
He became the first editor-in-chief of ''
Shargh
''Shargh'' ( fa, شرق, lit=East) is one of the most popular Reformist newspapers in Iran.
History and profile
''Shargh'' was founded in 2003. The daily is managed by Mehdi Rahmanian. Its chief editor was Mohammad Ghouchani in its first period ...
'' in 2003
until it was closed down in September 2006. He then held the same position at ''
Ham-Mihan
''Ham-Mihan'' ( fa, هممیهن, lit=Compatriot) was a reformist daily newspaper in Tehran, Iran. It was in circulation between 2000 and 2009.
History and profile
In January 2000 Gholamhossein Karbaschi, former mayor of Tehran, established ' ...
'' between May and June 2007, when the latter was also banned. From 2007 to 2008, he was editor of the weekly magazine ''
Shahrvand-e-Emrooz
''Shahrvand-e-Emrooz'' ( fa, شهروند امروز, lit=Today’s Citizen) was a Persian-language weekly news magazine that was in circulation between March 2007 and September 2011.
History and profile
''Shahrvand-e-Emrooz'' was launched in Ma ...
''.
Ghouchani then served as the editor-in-chief of ''
Etemad-e Melli'', the official organ of
National Trust Party led by
Mehdi Karroubi. He was also in charge of the women's lifestyle magazine ''
Irandokht
Irandokht ( fa, ایراندخت; 1915–1984) was a princess of Persia.
She was the first child of Ahmad Shah Qajar and Badr al-Molouk. She was princess of Persia before leaving the country with her parents when she was 10 years old, when her ...
'', another publication close to Karroubi, until its office was raided in December 2009. In the aftermath of
2009 Iranian presidential election protests
After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The protests co ...
, Ghouchani was imprisoned along with many journalists and both his publications were closed down. After 131 days in detention, he was released on bail.
With ease of pressure on media as
Hassan Rouhani
Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
took office, Ghouchani published a pre-issue of ''
Ham-Mihan
''Ham-Mihan'' ( fa, هممیهن, lit=Compatriot) was a reformist daily newspaper in Tehran, Iran. It was in circulation between 2000 and 2009.
History and profile
In January 2000 Gholamhossein Karbaschi, former mayor of Tehran, established ' ...
'' on 26 October 2013, but the
judicial system allegedly prevented republication of the newspaper.
He also served as the editor-in-chief of ''
Aseman'' and ''
Mehrnameh''.
The former was a weekly magazine that was turned into a daily newspaper, but it was shut down by the judicial authorities less than a week after its launch in February 2014.
Views
Ghouchani is a critic of
Neo-Shariatism
Shariatism () is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of Ali Shariati.
Neo-Shariatism
Neo-Shariatism is made up of a particular group of Shariati supporters who emerged in the 1990s, as a result of debates w ...
.
In 2004, Ghouchani spoke out about the
red lines that could not be crossed in Iran, and said he views the
ethical standard for journalism in Iran as "not lying to society". He also stated "Journalism is our job, our passion and our life, something that we don’t want to lose, unless we reach the point where we cannot work honorably".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghouchani, Mohammad
Iranian journalists
People from Rasht
Living people
1976 births
Executives of Construction Party politicians
Iranian newspaper publishers (people)
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Iran