Bahman Ahmadi Amouee (; born ) is an Iranian journalist. He served as an editor at the pro-reform business daily '' Sarmayeh'' before the paper's 2009 closing and his own imprisonment on state security charges. He is married to fellow journalist Jila Baniyaghoob, who was also imprisoned for her journalistic work.

Background

Amouee is a member of the nomadic

Bakhtiari people The Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; Persian language, Persian:بختیاری) are a Lurs, Lur tribe from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Chaharmaha ...

from Southwestern Iran, and spent the first six years of his life in

Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shahr-e Kord. The province lies in the southwest of the country, with an area of 16,332 square kilometers. The province was classified as p ...

. In order that Amouee could attend school, his family moved to

Khuzestan province Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...

. He later studied economics at the Babolsar College of Economics and Social Sciences, and then moved into economic journalism. Amouee became an editor at the pro-reform business daily '' Sarmayeh'' and an active critic of the Iranian government's economic policies, calling the nation one of the most corrupt in the world. In 2008, he wrote an article questioning why the government could not account for US$238 billion in oil revenues. In addition to his work with the daily newspaper, he also wrote two books: ''The Political Economy of the Islamic Republic'' and ''How did Islamic Revolutionaries became Technocrats?''

2009 arrest

Beginning in June 2009, Iran saw widespread protests following a disputed election in which President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

was re-elected amid allegations of voter fraud. On the night of 20 June, Amouee and Baniyaghoob were arrested at their home by plainclothes police officers, as part of a general crackdown on journalists. On 4 January 2010, Amouee was sentenced to a

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed ...

of 32 lashes as well as seven years and four months' imprisonment on charges of "gathering and colluding with intent to harm national security", "spreading propaganda against the system", "disrupting public security" and "insulting the president". The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

protested the sentence, calling it "unlawful" and "patently political". In the same month, Baniyaghoob was tried and convicted for "spreading propaganda against the system" and "insulting the president". The court banned her from practicing journalism for thirty years and sentenced her to a year in prison.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

designated both Amouee and Baniyaghoob to be

prisoners of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

, "detained solely for their peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression", and called for their immediate release.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

also lobbied for Amouee's release, stating that his imprisonment was a violation of

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

; in 2011, the organization named him a winner of its Hellmann-Hammett award. Amouee is serving his sentence at

Evin Prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

. On 26 July 2010, he was transferred to

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

, prompting him to begin a hunger strike along with several other jailed journalists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amouee, Bahman Ahmadi Living people 1960s births Iranian journalists Iranian prisoners and detainees People from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Iran Political prisoners in Iran Year of birth missing (living people)