Ahmad Zeydabadi
| Ahmad Zeidabadi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
21 July 1966 Zeidabad, Sirjan, Iran |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Notable credit(s) | Editor-in-chief AZAD Newspaper |
| Spouse(s) | Mahdieh Mohammadi |
| Children | Pooya, Parsa, Parham |
Ahmad Zeidabadi (born 21 July 1965 in Zeidabad, Sirjan) is an Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst and the secretary general of Office for Strengthening Unity. He is one of the notable figures of the Iranian reform movement.
Zeidabadi has been arrested multiple times for his journalistic work. In June 2009, shortly after the Iranian presidential election, Zeidabadi was arrested and held in conditions which the World Association of Newspapers called "horrific." In December 2009, Zeidabadi was sentenced to six years in prison.
Zeidabadi is the winner of the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award for 2010 and UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2011.
Zeidabadi holds a doctorate degree in international relations from Tehran University. His PhD thesis topic was "Religion and Government in Israel". His articles appeared in many newspapers and other media such as Rooz and BBC Persian.
Zeidabadi's professional work as a journalist started when he joined Ettela'at newspaper in 1989. He also worked with Hamshahri newspaper as well as other reformist newspapers which started being published after Iran's election in 1997. He is the secretary general of Office for Strengthening Unity and is one of the notable figures in Iranian reform movement. He is a member of the board of Iran's Journalists' Union.
He has always defended ethnic and religious minority rights in his articles and speeches. He also is an expert on Arab-Israeli conflict and has published articles supporting the peace process. His courage and integrity is been admired over the years even by his colleagues who did not share the same political views with him.
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Wikipedia