Saeed Laylaz ( fa, سعید لیلاز) is an Iranian economist, journalist, and a former advisor to President
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 ...
. Laylaz was a pro-reform critic of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
and was arrested as part of a general crackdown during the
2009–2010 Iranian 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 con ...
; his newspaper, the business daily ''
Sarmayeh
''Sarmayeh'' ( fa, سرمایه; ) was a daily business newspaper published in Iran until it was banned from publishing by the Iranian government, and several of its reporters and editors were arrested on state security charges in 2009.
Journali ...
'', was banned by government censors in November 2009. He is a professor at
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 ...
's
Shahid Beheshti University
Shahid Behesti University ( fa, دانشگاه شهید بهشتی , Dāneshgāh-e Shahid Beheshti) (formerly known as the National University of Iran) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. The university offers many programs at Bache ...
.
2009 arrest
During the
2009 Iranian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Iran on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes co ...
, Laylaz was a key adviser in the campaign of opposition candidate
Mir Hossein Mousavi
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
. After President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
was re-elected amid allegations of voter fraud in June, Iran saw widespread protests.
On 17 June, Laylaz was arrested as part of a general crackdown on journalists. A ''Sarmayeh'' husband-and-wife team, editor
Bahman Ahmadi Amouee
Bahman Ahmadi Amouee ( fa, بهمن احمدی امویی; born ) is an Iranian journalist. He served as an editor at the pro-reform business daily ''Sarmayeh'' before the paper's 2009 closing and his own imprisonment on state security charges. H ...
and reporter
Jila Baniyaghoob
Jila Baniyaghoob (or Zhīlā Banī Yaʻqūb, Persian Language, Persian: ژيلا بنى يعقوب ; born 21 August 1970) is an Iranian journalist and women's rights activist. She is the editor-in-chief of the website ''Kanoon Zanan Irani'' ("Foc ...
, were arrested three days later. On 2 December 2009, Laylaz was found guilty of "taking part in illegal gatherings" and "holding classified information", and was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. In March 2010, the sentence was reduced on appeal to three years.
Laylaz's imprisonment drew international attention and protest from NGOs.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
designated him a prisoner of conscience, "detained solely for ispeaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression", and called for his immediate release.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
called on the Iranian government to "halt the crackdown" and release Laylaz and the other detained. The
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
described itself as "deeply concerned" by the sentence, calling it "highly politicized and unjustified".
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
listed it as a "Press Freedom Violation".
Personal life
Laylaz is married to Sepehrnaz Panahi, with whom he has a daughter, Shahrzad, and a son, Mohammad-Hossein.