The Road to Democracy in Iran October 23, 2008

Akbar Ganji, Former Commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

Akbar Ganji is considered Iran’s leading investigative journalist. A former commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, he is now known as Iran’s most famous dissident. A supporter of the Islamic Revolution as a youth, Ganji became disenchanted in the mid-1990s and served time in Tehran’s Evin Prison from 2001 to 2006 after publishing a series of stories in which he implicated the former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and other leading conservative figures in the murder of five dissident authors. Since his release from prison he has been traveling outside Iran, meeting with intellectuals and activists in the international human rights community. On his way, Akbar Ganji joins the Council to discuss his goals for the democracy movement in Iran, why women’s rights trump various interpretations of Islamic law, and how the West can help promote democracy in Muslim countries, particularly Iran.

Check-in: 5:30 PM, Program: 6:00 PM
World Affairs Council Auditorium Council
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