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{{Short description|Iranian politician}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Sazegara.jpg
| image = Sazegara.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| name = Mohsen Sazegara
| name = Mohsen Sazegara
| caption =
| caption =
| religion = [[Islam]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1955|01|05}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1955|01|05}}
| birth_place = [[Tehran]], [[Iran]]
| birth_place = [[Tehran]], [[Pahlavi Iran|Imperial State of Iran]]
| residence = [[United States]]
| residence = United States
| employer =
| employer =
| occupation = [[Journalist]] & [[Activist]]
| occupation = Journalist and activist
| website = [http://www.sazegara.net/ Sazegara.net]
| website = [http://www.sazegara.net/ Sazegara.net]
| party = [[National Coalition of Freedom-Seekers]] (2003)<ref>{{cite web|title=Chronology of Events in Iran, April 2003: Iranian dissident released on health grounds|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/403f691f4.pdf|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=April 2003|access-date=2017-06-20|page=1|via=UNCHR Ankara COI Team}}</ref>
| otherparty = [[Freedom Movement of Iran]] (1970s)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13960721000433 |title=Political life of Ebrahim Yazdi |access-date=2017-10-14 |archive-date=2017-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183107/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13960721000433 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| branch = [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guards]]
| serviceyears = 1979
| unit =
| commands =
| battles =
}}
}}
'''Mohsen Sazegara''' ({{lang-fa|محسن سازگارا}}) is an [[Iran]]ian [[journalist]] and pro-democracy [[political activist]]. Dr. Sazegara held several high-ranking positions in the Government of [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]], such as deputy prime minister, minister of industry, deputy chairman of the budget and planning department, and many more before becoming disillusioned with the government in 1989 and pushing for reforms. He applied to become a candidate for [[President of Iran]] in the 2001 election but was declined.
'''Mohsen Sazegara''' ({{langx|fa|محسن سازگارا}}; born 5 January 1955) is an Iranian [[journalist]] and pro-democracy [[political activist]]. He was the founder of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] after the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979. He held several offices in the government of [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi|Mir Hossein Mousavi]]. He applied to become a candidate for [[President of Iran]] in the [[2001 Iranian presidential election|2001 election]] but was declined.


His reformist policies clashed with the [[Supreme Leader]], [[Ayatollah Khamenei]], eventually resulting in his arrest in early 2003. Following his release in August 2003, he moved to the [[United Kingdom]] for medical attention. He currently resides in the [[United States]].
His reformist policies clashed with Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]], eventually resulting in Sazegara's arrest in early 2003. Following his release in August 2003, he moved to the [[United Kingdom]] for medical attention. He currently resides in the [[United States]].


==Early career==
==Early career==
In the late-1970s, Sazegara was an undergraduate student at both [[Sharif University of Technology]] in Iran and the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]],<ref name="washingtoninstitute"> [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy|The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] (2005-03-30). [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=221 "Iranian Dissident And Political Activist Mohsen Sazegara Joins The Washington Institute As A Visiting Fellow."] ([[PDF]]). [[Press Release]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> during which time he was a leader of the student movement against the [[Shah]]. During the 1979 revolution, he returned to Iran and served as a founder of the [[Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Revolutionary Guard Corps]] and the managing director of the [[IRIB|National Radio of Iran]] (1979–1981).<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> In the 1980s, Sazegara served as political deputy in the prime minister's office, deputy minister of heavy industries, chairman of the [[IDRO Group|Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran]], and vice minister of planning and budget.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" />
In the late 1970s, Sazegara was an undergraduate student at both [[Sharif University of Technology]] in [[Iran]] and the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]],<ref name="washingtoninstitute">[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy|The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] (2005-03-30). [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=221 "Iranian Dissident And Political Activist Mohsen Sazegara Joins The Washington Institute As A Visiting Fellow."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514045511/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=221 |date=2006-05-14 }} ([[PDF]]). [[Press Release]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> during which time he was a leader of the student movement against Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]]. During the 1979 revolution, he returned to Iran and served as a founder of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] and the managing director of the [[IRIB|National Radio of Iran]] (1979–1981).<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> In the 1980s, Sazegara served as political deputy in the prime minister's office, deputy minister of heavy industries, chairman of the [[IDRO Group|Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran]], and vice minister of planning and budget.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" />


Sazegara became disillusioned with the Islamic Republic government. Following the end of the [[Iran-Iraq war]] in 1988 and the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, he turned down further government posts, saying that his refusal was in order to continue his study of [[history]].<ref name="opendemocracy">Sazegara, Mohsen (2005-04-11). [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/html/pdf/OpenDemocracy.pdf "Iran's Road to Democracy."] ([[PDF]]). [http://www.opendemocracy.net openDemocracy Ltd]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>
Sazegara became disillusioned with the Islamic Republic government. Following the end of the [[Iran–Iraq War]] in 1988 and the death of Ayatollah [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] in 1989, he turned down further government posts, saying that his refusal was in order to continue his study of [[history]].<ref name="opendemocracy">Sazegara, Mohsen (2005-04-11). [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/html/pdf/OpenDemocracy.pdf "Iran's Road to Democracy."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051029175240/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/html/pdf/OpenDemocracy.pdf |date=2005-10-29 }} ([[PDF]]). [http://www.opendemocracy.net openDemocracy Ltd]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>


==Studies and reform==
==Studies and reform==
Sazegara earned his master's degree in history at [[Shahid Beheshti University]] in Iran, and went on to complete his doctoral thesis on religious intellectuals and the Islamic revolution at the [[University of London]] 1996.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> After the 1997 election of reformist President [[Mohammad Khatami]], Sazegara published several reformist newspapers including ''Jamee'', ''Toos'', and ''Golestan-e-Iran'', all of which were closed by the hard-line regime.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" />
Sazegara earned his master's degree in history at [[Shahid Beheshti University]] in Iran, and completed his doctoral thesis on religious intellectuals and the Islamic revolution at the [[University of London]] 1996.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> After the 1997 election of reformist president [[Mohammad Khatami]], Sazegara published several reformist newspapers including ''[[Jameah]]'', ''Tus'', and ''Golestan-e-Iran'', all of which were closed by the hard-line regime.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Geneive Abdo|title=Media and Information: The Case of Iran|journal=Social Research: An International Quarterly|date=Fall 2003|volume=70|issue=3 |pages=880–881|jstor=40971645|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40971645}}</ref>


Believing that reform would be impossible with the current [[Iranian Constitution]], he launched a campaign to hold a referendum on the constitution. His drive to amend the constitution gained strong support among many students. In 2001, Dr. Sazegara became a presidential candidate; however, his candidacy was refused by the [[Guardian Council]], reportedly because his opinions were "not congruent with the wishes of the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader."<ref name="hrw">[http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0605/iran0605.pdf "Access Denied: Iran's Exclusionary Elections."] ([[PDF]]). [[Human Rights Watch]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>
Believing that reform would be impossible with the current [[Iranian Constitution]], he launched a campaign to hold a referendum on the constitution. His drive to amend the constitution gained strong support among many students. In 2001, Sazegara became a presidential candidate; however, his candidacy was refused by the [[Guardian Council]], reportedly because his opinions were "not congruent with the wishes of the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader."<ref name="hrw">[https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0605/iran0605.pdf "Access Denied: Iran's Exclusionary Elections."] (PDF). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>


==Arrest==
==Arrest==
On Tuesday, February 18, 2003, Sazegara was arrested by the [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Intelligence]], and held for five days, during which he protested by [[hunger strike]].<ref name="freed">[http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Feb-2003/sazegara_freed_23203.htm "Mohsen Sazegara Freed and Hospitalized."] Iran Press Service. 2003-02-23. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref><ref name="arrested">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2005/06/outspoken_dissi.html "Outspoken Dissident Mohsen Sazegara Arrested."] sazegara.net 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> His arrest was protested by the journalism associations the [[World Association of Newspapers]] and the World Editors Forum, which together represent over 18,000 publications in 100 countries.<ref name="WAN">Hong, S. H. & Anderson, G. B. (2003-02-21). [http://www.wan-press.org/article877.html "To Express Concern at the Arrest of Journalist Mohamed Mohsen Sazegara."] [[World Association of Newspapers]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> [[Amnesty International]] named him a [[prisoner of conscience]] and called for his immediate release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/031/2003/en/1ba47a88-d698-11dd-ab95-a13b602c0642/mde130312003en.html |title=Further Information on UA 173/03 (MDE 13/014/2003, 18 June 2003) and follow-up (MDE 13/020/2003, 11 July 2003) - Prisoner of conscience/ Incommunicado detention/ Fear of torture or ill-treatment/ Medical concern |author= |date=2 September 2003 |work= |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref>
On February 18, 2003, Sazegara was arrested by the [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Intelligence]] and held for five days, during which he protested by [[hunger strike]].<ref name="freed">[http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Feb-2003/sazegara_freed_23203.htm "Mohsen Sazegara Freed and Hospitalized."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016220751/http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Feb-2003/sazegara_freed_23203.htm |date=2006-10-16 }} Iran Press Service. 2003-02-23. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref><ref name="arrested">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2005/06/outspoken_dissi.html "Outspoken Dissident Mohsen Sazegara Arrested."] sazegara.net 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> His arrest was criticized by the journalism associations the [[World Association of Newspapers]] and the World Editors Forum, which together represent over 18,000 publications in 100 countries.<ref name="WAN">Hong, S. H. & Anderson, G. B. (2003-02-21). [http://www.wan-press.org/article877.html "To Express Concern at the Arrest of Journalist Mohamed Mohsen Sazegara."] [[World Association of Newspapers]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> [[Amnesty International]] named him a [[prisoner of conscience]] and called for his immediate release.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/031/2003/en/ |title=Further Information on UA 173/03 (MDE 13/014/2003, 18 June 2003) and follow-up (MDE 13/020/2003, 11 July 2003) - Prisoner of conscience/ Incommunicado detention/ Fear of torture or ill-treatment/ Medical concern |author= |date=2 September 2003 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |accessdate=2012-01-22}}</ref>


Later that same year, he was arrested again on June 15, this time with his eldest son Vahid Sazegara, on the order of [[Tehran]]'s [[Public Prosecutor]] [[Saeed Mortazavi]]. Vahid Sazegara was released July 9, but Mohsen Sazegara went on to spend 114 days in custody and 79 days on a hunger strike, during which he lost almost 50&nbsp;pounds of his body weight. This was especially troubling, since Sazegara suffers from severe heart problems, having had two heart operations within the previous few years. After his release from [[Evin Prison]], he left [[Iran]] to seek medical attention in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="amnesty">[http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Oct-2003/sazegara_released_71003.htm "Mohsen Sazegara Released."] Iran Press Service. 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref><ref name="arrested2">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2003/09/02092003_-_ai_-.html "Mohsen Sazegara arrested after publishing an article on his website calling for "a profound change of the constitution" at risk of torture or ill-treatment."] [[Amnesty International]]. 2003-09-02. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>
Later that same year, he was arrested again on June 15, this time with his eldest son Vahid Sazegara, on the order of [[Tehran]]'s public prosecutor, [[Saeed Mortazavi]]. Vahid was released July 9, but Mohsen spent 114 days in custody and 79 days on a hunger strike, during which he lost almost 50&nbsp;pounds of his body weight. After his release from [[Evin Prison]], he left Iran to seek medical attention in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="amnesty">[http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Oct-2003/sazegara_released_71003.htm "Mohsen Sazegara Released."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016203259/http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2003/Oct-2003/sazegara_released_71003.htm |date=2006-10-16 }} Iran Press Service. 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref><ref name="arrested2">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2003/09/02092003_-_ai_-.html "Mohsen Sazegara arrested after publishing an article on his website calling for "a profound change of the constitution" at risk of torture or ill-treatment."] [[Amnesty International]]. 2003-09-02. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref><ref name="AI">[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/020/2003/en/?open&of=ENG-2MD "Iran: Further Information on Prisoners of conscience /Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment."] 2003-09-11. [[Amnesty International]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref>
<ref name="AI">[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130202003?open&of=ENG-2MD "Iran: Further Information on Prisoners of conscience /Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment."] 2003-09-11. [[Amnesty International]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06. {{wayback|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130202003?open&of=ENG-2MD |date=20061105225837 }}</ref>


==Continued activism==
==Continued activism==
In the United Kingdom he called for a [[referendum]] and launched an Internet petition, on which he gained the signatures of over 35,000 people.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> His continued calls for reform in Iran have led the regime to sentence him [[trial in absentia|''in absentia'']] to seven years in prison, without clear charges.<ref name="wp">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2005/08/iranian_sentenc.html "Iranian Sentenced in Absentia Laments State of Judiciary"] (2005-08-24). [http://www.wp.com ''The Washington Post'']. Page A12.</ref>
In the United Kingdom, Sazegara continued to call for a [[referendum]] to replace the Iranian Constitution. He launched an Internet petition that gained the signatures of over 35,000 people.<ref name="washingtoninstitute" /> Iran sentenced him [[trial in absentia|''in absentia'']] to seven years in prison.<ref name="wp">[http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2005/08/iranian_sentenc.html "Iranian Sentenced in Absentia Laments State of Judiciary"] (2005-08-24). [http://www.wp.com ''The Washington Post'']. Page A12.</ref>


In March 2005, he left the UK to attend to a job opportunity in the [[United States]] at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] as a visiting scholar. Following a six-month term, he left the Washington Institute for Near East Policy for [[Yale University]]'s Center for International and Area Studies. By the end of the educational year he left Yale University to work at [[Harvard University]] as a researcher on Iran.<ref name="saze">Beehner, Lionel (2006-10-20). [http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2006/10/sazegara_strong.html "Sazegara: Strong Talk and Sanctions May Resolve Stalemate with Iran."] [[Council on Foreign Relations]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> As of February 2010, Sazegara has been "preaching" a "message of nonviolent action on a nightly basis," through videos calling on Iranian dissidents to avoid fragmentation and unite behind former presidential candidate [[Mir Hossein Mousavi]].<ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/news/2009/aug/17/khomeini-ally-now-leads-iran-dissidents/ "Khomeini ally now leads Iran dissidents" by Iason Athanasiadis], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', August 17, 2009, Retrieved 2009-8-20</ref>
In March 2005, Sazegara left the UK for the [[United States]] to be a visiting scholar at [[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]. Following a six-month term there, he joined [[Yale University]]'s Center for International and Area Studies. By the end of the educational year he left Yale to work at [[Harvard University]] as a researcher on Iran.<ref name="saze">Beehner, Lionel (2006-10-20). [http://www.sazegara.net/english/archives/2006/10/sazegara_strong.html "Sazegara: Strong Talk and Sanctions May Resolve Stalemate with Iran."] [[Council on Foreign Relations]]. Retrieved 2006-11-06.</ref> In 2009, Sazegara appealed for Iranian dissidents to avoid fragmentation and unite behind former presidential candidate [[Mir Hossein Mousavi]].<ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/news/2009/aug/17/khomeini-ally-now-leads-iran-dissidents/ "Khomeini ally now leads Iran dissidents" by Iason Athanasiadis], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', 2009-08-17, Retrieved 2009-08-20</ref> In 2010, he was a visiting fellow at the [[George W. Bush Presidential Center|George W. Bush Institute]] at [[Southern Methodist University]] in [[Dallas, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://georgewbushinstitute.com/fellows-of-the-george-w-bush-institute/ |title=Bush Institute |access-date=2010-09-15 |archive-date=2010-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820111659/http://georgewbushinstitute.com/fellows-of-the-george-w-bush-institute/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://georgewbushinstitute.com/2010/02/04/iranian-dissident-mohsen-sazegara-joins-bush-institute-as-visiting-fellow/ |title=Bush Institute announcement |access-date=2010-09-10 |archive-date=2010-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617032455/http://georgewbushinstitute.com/2010/02/04/iranian-dissident-mohsen-sazegara-joins-bush-institute-as-visiting-fellow/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Sazegara is a devout Muslim. He advocates for [[Separation of church and state|separation of religion and state]] in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://m.jpost.com/HomePage/FrontPage/Article.aspx?id=87247730&cat=1 |title=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=2014-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112174433/http://m.jpost.com/HomePage/FrontPage/Article.aspx?id=87247730&cat=1 |archive-date=2016-01-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
As of 2010, he was a visiting fellow at the [[George W. Bush Presidential Center|George W. Bush Institute]] at [[Southern Methodist University]] in [[Dallas, Texas]].<ref>[http://georgewbushinstitute.com/fellows-of-the-george-w-bush-institute/ Bush Institute]</ref><ref>[http://georgewbushinstitute.com/2010/02/04/iranian-dissident-mohsen-sazegara-joins-bush-institute-as-visiting-fellow/ Bush Institute announcement]</ref>

Sazegara is a devout Muslim, and advocates for a separation of religion and state in Iran.<ref>[http://m.jpost.com/HomePage/FrontPage/Article.aspx?id=87247730&cat=1]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Mehdi Khalaji]]


==Notes and references==
==Notes and references==
Line 48: Line 49:


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons cat|Mohsen Sazegara}}
{{Commons category|Mohsen Sazegara}}
*[http://www.sazegara.net/english/ Mohsen Sazegara's Weblog]
* [http://www.sazegara.net/english/ Mohsen Sazegara's Weblog]
*[http://www.freedomcollection.org/interviews/mohsen_sazegara/ Mohsen Sazegara] ''[[Freedom Collection]]'' interview
* [http://www.freedomcollection.org/interviews/mohsen_sazegara/ Mohsen Sazegara] ''[[Freedom Collection]]'' interview
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wldd7 BBC Radio 4: Taking a Stand] BBC journalist Fergal Keane interviews Mohsen Sazegara about his life in a radio programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 14, 2010.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wldd7 BBC Radio 4: Taking a Stand] BBC journalist Fergal Keane interviews Mohsen Sazegara about his life in a radio programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 14, 2010.
{{List of political prisoners of Iran}}

{{Green Movement}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazegara, Mohsen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazegara, Mohsen}}
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[[Category:Amnesty International prisoners of conscience]]
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[[Category:Illinois Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Illinois Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Iranian democracy activists]]
[[Category:Iranian democracy activists]]
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[[Category:Iranian newspaper publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Iranian reformists]]
[[Category:Iranian reformists]]
[[Category:Iranian Vice Ministers]]
[[Category:Vice ministers of Iran]]
[[Category:Sharif University of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Sharif University of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers]]
[[Category:Iranian prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Freedom Movement of Iran politicians]]
[[Category:Inmates of Evin Prison]]
[[Category:Political prisoners in Iran]]

Latest revision as of 01:10, 8 November 2024

Mohsen Sazegara
Personal details
Born (1955-01-05) 5 January 1955 (age 69)
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Political partyNational Coalition of Freedom-Seekers (2003)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Freedom Movement of Iran (1970s)[2]
ResidenceUnited States
OccupationJournalist and activist
WebsiteSazegara.net
Military service
Branch/serviceRevolutionary Guards
Years of service1979

Mohsen Sazegara (Persian: محسن سازگارا; born 5 January 1955) is an Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. He was the founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He held several offices in the government of Mir Hossein Mousavi. He applied to become a candidate for President of Iran in the 2001 election but was declined.

His reformist policies clashed with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, eventually resulting in Sazegara's arrest in early 2003. Following his release in August 2003, he moved to the United Kingdom for medical attention. He currently resides in the United States.

Early career

[edit]

In the late 1970s, Sazegara was an undergraduate student at both Sharif University of Technology in Iran and the Illinois Institute of Technology,[3] during which time he was a leader of the student movement against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. During the 1979 revolution, he returned to Iran and served as a founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the managing director of the National Radio of Iran (1979–1981).[3] In the 1980s, Sazegara served as political deputy in the prime minister's office, deputy minister of heavy industries, chairman of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, and vice minister of planning and budget.[3]

Sazegara became disillusioned with the Islamic Republic government. Following the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988 and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, he turned down further government posts, saying that his refusal was in order to continue his study of history.[4]

Studies and reform

[edit]

Sazegara earned his master's degree in history at Shahid Beheshti University in Iran, and completed his doctoral thesis on religious intellectuals and the Islamic revolution at the University of London 1996.[3] After the 1997 election of reformist president Mohammad Khatami, Sazegara published several reformist newspapers including Jameah, Tus, and Golestan-e-Iran, all of which were closed by the hard-line regime.[3][5]

Believing that reform would be impossible with the current Iranian Constitution, he launched a campaign to hold a referendum on the constitution. His drive to amend the constitution gained strong support among many students. In 2001, Sazegara became a presidential candidate; however, his candidacy was refused by the Guardian Council, reportedly because his opinions were "not congruent with the wishes of the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader."[6]

Arrest

[edit]

On February 18, 2003, Sazegara was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence and held for five days, during which he protested by hunger strike.[7][8] His arrest was criticized by the journalism associations the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which together represent over 18,000 publications in 100 countries.[9] Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release.[10]

Later that same year, he was arrested again on June 15, this time with his eldest son Vahid Sazegara, on the order of Tehran's public prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi. Vahid was released July 9, but Mohsen spent 114 days in custody and 79 days on a hunger strike, during which he lost almost 50 pounds of his body weight. After his release from Evin Prison, he left Iran to seek medical attention in the United Kingdom.[11][12][13]

Continued activism

[edit]

In the United Kingdom, Sazegara continued to call for a referendum to replace the Iranian Constitution. He launched an Internet petition that gained the signatures of over 35,000 people.[3] Iran sentenced him in absentia to seven years in prison.[14]

In March 2005, Sazegara left the UK for the United States to be a visiting scholar at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Following a six-month term there, he joined Yale University's Center for International and Area Studies. By the end of the educational year he left Yale to work at Harvard University as a researcher on Iran.[15] In 2009, Sazegara appealed for Iranian dissidents to avoid fragmentation and unite behind former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.[16] In 2010, he was a visiting fellow at the George W. Bush Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.[17][18]

Sazegara is a devout Muslim. He advocates for separation of religion and state in Iran.[19]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ^ "Chronology of Events in Iran, April 2003: Iranian dissident released on health grounds" (PDF). Agence France-Presse. April 2003. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-06-20 – via UNCHR Ankara COI Team.
  2. ^ "Political life of Ebrahim Yazdi". Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (2005-03-30). "Iranian Dissident And Political Activist Mohsen Sazegara Joins The Washington Institute As A Visiting Fellow." Archived 2006-05-14 at the Wayback Machine (PDF). Press Release. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  4. ^ Sazegara, Mohsen (2005-04-11). "Iran's Road to Democracy." Archived 2005-10-29 at the Wayback Machine (PDF). openDemocracy Ltd. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  5. ^ Geneive Abdo (Fall 2003). "Media and Information: The Case of Iran". Social Research: An International Quarterly. 70 (3): 880–881. JSTOR 40971645.
  6. ^ "Access Denied: Iran's Exclusionary Elections." (PDF). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  7. ^ "Mohsen Sazegara Freed and Hospitalized." Archived 2006-10-16 at the Wayback Machine Iran Press Service. 2003-02-23. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  8. ^ "Outspoken Dissident Mohsen Sazegara Arrested." sazegara.net 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  9. ^ Hong, S. H. & Anderson, G. B. (2003-02-21). "To Express Concern at the Arrest of Journalist Mohamed Mohsen Sazegara." World Association of Newspapers. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  10. ^ "Further Information on UA 173/03 (MDE 13/014/2003, 18 June 2003) and follow-up (MDE 13/020/2003, 11 July 2003) - Prisoner of conscience/ Incommunicado detention/ Fear of torture or ill-treatment/ Medical concern". Amnesty International. 2 September 2003. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
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  12. ^ "Mohsen Sazegara arrested after publishing an article on his website calling for "a profound change of the constitution" at risk of torture or ill-treatment." Amnesty International. 2003-09-02. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
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  14. ^ "Iranian Sentenced in Absentia Laments State of Judiciary" (2005-08-24). The Washington Post. Page A12.
  15. ^ Beehner, Lionel (2006-10-20). "Sazegara: Strong Talk and Sanctions May Resolve Stalemate with Iran." Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
  16. ^ "Khomeini ally now leads Iran dissidents" by Iason Athanasiadis, The Washington Times, 2009-08-17, Retrieved 2009-08-20
  17. ^ "Bush Institute". Archived from the original on 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  18. ^ "Bush Institute announcement". Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  19. ^ "The Jerusalem Post". Archived from the original on 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
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