General calendar
Events on November 20, 2007
John Humphrey Freedom Award - Canadian Tour: Montreal
2007 John Humphrey Freedom Award
Laureate’s Canadian Tour
Public Event
with
Akbar Ganji, of Iran
Freedom of Expression and Association in Iran:
A Struggle for Democracy
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Centre d’archives de Montréal
535, avenue Viger East (corner Saint-Hubert)
Montreal
Métro Place-d’Armes or Berri-UQAM
Public speaking event organized by Rights & Democracy
(www.dd-rd.ca) in cooperation with Reporters Without Borders Canada (www.rsfcanada.org), Amnistie internationale (www.amnistie.ca) and Alternatives (www.alternatives.ca)
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Simultaneous translation available in French and English
FREE ADMISSION
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Host: Bernard Descôteaux, Editor, Le Devoir
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Akbar Ganji
…is an emblematic figure of dissent in Iran. Well-known journalist and author, Akbar Ganji spent six years in prison for exposing rights abuses committed by Iran’s fundamentalist regime. The charges stemmed from a series of investigative articles exposing the complicity of then President Rafsanjani and other leading members of the conservative clergy in the murders of political dissidents and intellectuals in 1998. During his time in prison, Mr. Ganji endured solitary confinement and went on a hunger strike that lasted from May to August 2005. He also continued to write, producing a series of influential political manifestos and open letters calling for Iran’s secularization and the establishment of democracy through mass civil disobedience. The works were smuggled out of Evin prison and published on the Internet. Mr. Ganji’s work has appeared in pro-democracy newspapers across Iran, most of which the government has since shut down. He has also written many books, including the bestselling The Dungeon of Ghosts (1999) and The Red Eminence and The Grey Eminence (2000).
