Hamid Golpira (

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 ...

: حمید گل پیرا; January 16, 1960 – July 7, 2015) was an Iranian-American journalist, author and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...

. He was a senior editor for the ''

Tehran Times The ''Tehran Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper. Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti, second in line in the political hierarchy following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, stated: "''Tehran Times'' is not a state-owned newspaper, rat ...

'' from 2000 to 2015. Golpira was renowned in the Iranian English language community for his defense of Palestine, Islam and

Islamic socialism Islamic socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates Islamic principles into socialism. As a term, it was coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Islamic socialists believe that the teachings ...

. He was a frequent commentator on

Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news network that broadcasts in the English and French languages owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the only organization legally able to transmit radio and TV broadc ...

, Iran's English language 24-hour news station as well as writing for various written publications.

Family and education

Golpira was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in the US, but moved to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in the 1980s to study Political Science, being present at the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was involved in political activism from his early twenties. In the late 1990s, Golpira moved to the

Islamic Republic of 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 ...

, the country of his parents before they relocated to the United States prior to 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 dyna ...

of 1979.

Career

Golpira was one of

' most prominent writers and editors. He had written on causes such as the

Iraq Invasion The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, Syria and the US's political actions during the US invasion of Afghanistan. He was an ardent critic of the US's

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

. He was also noted as one of the original English language journalism teachers in

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 ...

, with many current foreign based journalists and correspondents being taught by him. Homa Lezgee noted Golpira as her main journalism mentor during her time working for Iranian Press. As cited in, King of Terror, Golpira remarked on the US' Occupation of Afghanistan saying; Golpira was a fierce critic of contemporary Iranian cultural life, commenting on the growing influence of hypercapitalism on Iranian contemporary society. In January 2015, Golpira was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He continued to work for both Press TV and Tehran Times until April 2015, also being awarded a special commendation by the Journalists Guild. Before his death, Golpira was also working on his book, ''Working for a Brighter Day'', a collection of his selected articles.

Death

Hamid Golpira died on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 in Tehran's Arad General Hospital where he was undergoing invasive chemotherapy for his lung cancer. He was buried on July, 9 at Tehran's

Behesht-e Zahra Behesht-e Zahra ( fa, بهشت زهرا, lit. ''The Paradise of Zahra'', from Fatima az-Zahra) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1. History ...

cemetery in the Luminaries' Section. He is survived by his sister Roya. Alireza Ramezani of the Financial Tribune paper is quoted as saying, Golpira was the best editor at the Tehran Times during his time there.

References

External links

"Iraq smoke screen"
Golpira's 2008 opinion column published in the Mehr News Agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Golpira, Hamid 1960 births 2015 deaths Iranian mass media people Iranian journalists Deaths from cancer in Iran Iranian bloggers Iranian translators Writers from Baltimore 20th-century translators