Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi (born 1961) is an Iranian writer, film producer and human rights activist.

Life

Zand-Bonazzi was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

to journalist parents. She attended the

American University of Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to be established in France. The university ...

as well as at the IDHEC, the Institute for the Advanced Cinematographic Studies. In 1982, she went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and continued studies at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

. She studied film and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

as well as

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

. In 1993, Banafsheh returned to the world of TV production, as a freelance line producer of documentary films. In 2001, her father, Siamak Pourzand, became a political prisoner in Iran. He committed suicide in 2011, in what Zand said was a protest against the government. Banafsheh regularly writes for ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', Defense & Foreign Affairs and ''

FrontPage Magazine ''FrontPage Magazine'', also known as ''FrontPageMag.com'', is an American right-wing, anti-Islam political website edited by David Horowitz and published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The site has also been described by scholars and w ...

''. She is a regular commentator on Iranian politics on the

John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and the host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is WOR in New York City. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, wo ...

Show and has appeared on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's ''

Washington Journal The ''Washington Journal'' is an American television series on the C-SPAN television network in the format of a political call-in and interview program. The program features elected officials, government administrators, and journalists as gue ...

'' and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

TV, and

Fox TV Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...

with Eric Shawn. Banafsheh is also the editor of the English department of the website Iran Press News. She also edits Iranian news service, Planet-Iran.com.

Activism

Zand-Bonazzi is a member of the board of advisers of the

International Free Press Society The International Free Press Society (IFPS), founded in 2009, is a creation of the Danish Free Press Society. The stated purpose of IFPS "is to defend freedom of expression wherever and by whomever it is threatened". It has been described as a k ...

. In 2007 she helped organize in the St Petersburg (Florida)

Secular Islam Summit The Secular Islam Summit was an international forum for secularists of Islamic societies, held 4–5 March 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was largely organized and funded by the Amherst, NY-based Center for Inquiry, a secular humanist educatio ...

, which she addressed along with other thinkers and reformers of Islam such as

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; born 13 November 1969) is a Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced mar ...

Wafa Sultan Wafa Sultan (; born June 14, 1958) is a Syrian-American medical doctor, writer, and critic of Islam. In 2006, ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Early life Sultan was born into a modest middle cla ...

and

Irshad Manji Irshad Manji (born 1968) is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of '' The Trouble with Islam Today'' (2004) and ''Allah, Liberty and Love'' (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a P ...

. The group released the St Petersburg Declaration which urges world governments to, among other things, reject

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law,

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

and

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

, which the signers believe to be in accordance with Article 18 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

Works/Publications

* ''Hassan Rouhani, In His Own Words'' * ''From Bogota to Tehran'' * ''Who Is Hassan Rouhani?'' * ''Laundering Khatemi'' * ''The Iran Regime's Tehran-DC Fantasy Flight'' * ''Hassan Rouhani to Again Take Over as Nuclear Negotiator'' * ''Iran & Russia to Hold Joint Naval Maneuvers in Caspian Sea'' * ''Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Champions Iranian Dissident Filmmaker Jafar Panahi''

Litigation against Iran in the United States

In 2019, Banafsheh Zand and Mr. Pourzand's wife Mehrangiz Kar, and his U.S. citizen daughter, Azadeh Pourzand filed a complaint against Islamic Republic of Iran and IRGC for torturing, hostage taking, and

extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...

of Mr. Pourzand under FSIA. On September 30, 2022, Judge John Bates ordered that Iran is liable for torturing and hostage taking of Mr. Pourzand. The Court awarded compensatory damages totaling, with prejudgment interest, $17,403,063.01 for Plaintiffs. The Court will also award punitive damages of $17,403,063.01. Plaintiffs’ total award is $34,806,126.02. Ali Herischi was the attorney for Plaintiffs.

References

External links

Interview: Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi at ABC News

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi- CSPAN.org

Writings by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi- Islamist Watch

Tavaana.org

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi's HumanRightsActivists.org page

Banafsheh Zand's biography at Gatestone Institute

Tag: Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi at Mackenzie Institute

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi
at

Middle East Forum The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative 501(c)(3) think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who now serves as its chairman. Gregg Roman serves as director of the forum. MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 19 ...

(MEF)
Author: Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zand-Bonazzi, Banafsheh Iranian activists Iranian dissidents Iranian human rights activists Iranian writers Iranian women writers Former Muslim critics of Islam FrontPage Magazine people National Review people Politicians from Tehran 1961 births Living people Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni University of Maryland, Baltimore County alumni