Bahareh Hedayat
Bahareh Hedayat (Persian: بهاره هدایت, born 1981) is an Iranian student activist[1] and campaigner for women's rights. She was arrested on July 9, 2007, and on August 9, 2007, but released on bail. She was again arrested and released in 2008,[2] and in 2010 was sentenced to nine and a half years' imprisonment[3] for anti-state propaganda.[4][5][6][7] Bahareh Hedayat arrested for her participation in a peaceful gathering to condemn the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in January 2020, and has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. [8] [9]
Life
Hedayat is a founding member of a petition for women's rights in Iran known as the "One Million Signatures campaign".[10][11]
She graduated from the University of Economic Sciences in Tehran.[12] She was a student at the University of Tehran in the School of Economics.[13][14]
On June 14, 2016, the United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion demanding Hedayat's immediate release, her imprisonment since 2009 being arbitrary and against international law.[15] Hedayat experienced severe negligence and was denied access to her medical needs at various times throughout her imprisonment. She was also on occasion denied family visits and phone calls. During her time in prison, Hedayat translated Dave Eggers book The Circle and David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas from English to Persian all by hand and with the help of a dictionary.
In 2012 Hedayat was awarded with the Edelstam Prize for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in standing up for one’s beliefs in the defense of Human Rights.
On 10 February 2020, Bahareh was arrested by Tehran University security police. She was later taken to Qarchak prison. There she started a hunger strike.[16][17]
References
- "Iran Gives West One-Month 'Ultimatum' to Accept Nuclear Counterproposal". The New York Times. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- "Iran arrests two prominent student activists". Daily Times (Pakistan). 15 July 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- "Iran Presses Opposition With Attacks and Jail Time". The New York Times. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- "Jailed Iranian students start hunger strike". Reuters. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (12 August 2015). "Iran refuses to free student activist Bahareh Hedayat after six years in jail". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (16 September 2015). "Iran's Rouhani urged to release student activist Bahareh Hedayat". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Shirin Ebadi (28 November 2013). "Women Rising". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Prominent Activist Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Protesting Downing of Ukrainian Passenger Plane
- Beaten During Arrest Prominent Iranian Female Activist On Hunger Strike
- "Iran: Free Women Activists". Human Rights Watch. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "Raynell Andreychuk: The persecution of Bahareh Hedayat". National Post. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/list_of_29_iranian_students_in_prison.pdf
- "Day 12: Spotlighting Bahareh Hedayat, Iran – Nobel Women's Initiative". Nobel Women's Initiative. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "Bahareh Hedayat: Women's Rights Defender - Tavaana Article". tavaana.org. Tavaana. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Opinion No. 2/2016 concerning Bahareh Hedayat
- Beaten During Arrest Prominent Iranian Female Activist On Hunger Strike
- Iran Moves to Silence Journalists, Activists Ahead of Parliamentary Elections