Akbar Ganji

Iranian journalist · Iran · On the map · Journalists · Born 1960 · age 66

Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist, writer and a former member of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He has been described as "Iran's preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly.

Akbar Ganji is read about 111 times a day, in 16 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 10 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 112 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2010International Press Institute World Press Freedom HeroesAward2007Preis für die Freiheit und Zukunft der MedienAward2006Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights DefendersAwardWorld Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom AwardAward1960Born31 January 1960

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Media & music

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Awards

International Press Institute World Press Freedom Heroes2010

Preis für die Freiheit und Zukunft der Medien2007

World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award2006

Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders2006

John Humphrey Freedom Award

John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award

About this person

A supporter of the Islamic revolution as a youth, he became disenchanted in the mid-1990s and served time in Tehran's Evin Prison from 2001 to 2006, after publishing a series of stories on the murder of dissident authors known as the Chain Murders of Iran. While in prison, he issued a manifesto which established him as the first "prominent dissident, believing Muslim and former revolutionary" to call for a replacement of Iran's theocratic system with "a democracy". He has been described as "Iran's best-known political prisoner".

Country

Iran