Hossein Derakhshan
| Hossein Derakhshan | |
|---|---|
Derakhshan in 2005
|
|
| Native name | حسين درخشان |
| Born |
January 7, 1975 Iran |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Father blogging in Iran |
| Criminal charge | Multiple |
| Criminal penalty | 19½ years in prison |
| Criminal status | Pardoned |
Hossein Derakhshan (Persian: حسين درخشان; born January 7, 1975), also known as Hoder, is an Iranian-Canadian blogger who was imprisoned in Tehran from November 2008 to November 2014. He is credited with starting the blogging revolution in Iran and is called the father of Persian blogging by many journalists. He also helped to promote podcasting in Iran. Derakhshan was arrested on November 1, 2008 and sentenced to 19½ years in prison on September 28, 2010. His sentence was reduced to 17 years in October 2013. He was pardoned by Iran's supreme leader and on November 19, 2014 was released from Evin prison.
Derakhshan started his education in Nikan High School in Tehran. He has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. He spent time studying sociology at the University of Toronto. He holds a master's degree (MA) in Film and Media Studies from SOAS, University of London, 2008.
Derakhshan started out as a journalist writing about Internet and digital culture for reformist newspaper, Asr-e Azadegan in 1999. Later, when this paper was closed down by the judiciary system, he moved to another newspaper, Hayat-e No. His column there was called Panjere-i roo be hayaat (A Window to the Life, a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window), and later expanded to a weekly page on digital culture, Internet and computer games.
In December 2000, Derakhshan moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On September 25, 2001, he started his weblog in the Persian language, using Unicode. It was titled Sardabir: khodam, or "Editor: Myself".
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