Ebrahim Zalzadeh (c. 1948 – February 22, 1997) was a dissident

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

author and editor who was murdered in 1997 in what is thought to have been one of the " chain murders" of dissidents by "rogue elements" in Iran's intelligence ministry.

Background

Zalzadeh was editor of the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian literary monthly ''Mayar'' (also spelled ''Me'yer''), a publication that frequently criticized Iranian government

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

practices against the media, and was forced to close by the authorities in 1995. Zalzadeh oversaw the publishing companies of Bamdad ("Dawn") and Ebtekar ("Initiative"). "Dictatorship will not continue," Ebrahim Zalzadeh wrote in his final editorial to the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, Ayatollah

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

and he is remembered for that. Iran's formidable intelligence agencies banned Me'yar after the critical editorial and later kidnapped and executed Ebrahim Zalzadeh. Zalzadeh disappeared on February 22, 1997, and was identified in a

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. ...

morgue on March 29.CPJ Journalists Killed in 1997: Ebrahim Zalzadeh, Mayar, February 22, 1997, Tehran
/ref> According to the coroner's report, his body was discovered half-buried and with multiple stab wounds in the chest, on or about February 24 by a road in the outskirts of Tehran. He was in a Tehran morgue on March 29, 35 days after he had been reported missing. "Zalzadeh was one of several Iranian writers and publishers who had volunteered to share the punishment of magazine editor Abbas Maroufi, who was sentenced in January 1996 to six months in prison and 35

lashes Lashes may refer to: * Lashes, a form of Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' ni ...

for criticizing the government."

Sources

Freedom Forum Jourists Memorial EBRAHIM ZALZADEH

References

External links

Ebrahim Zalzadeh's death report at Amnesty International

Ebrahim Zalzadeh at International Press Institute

Memorial Story: Ebrahim Zalzadeh
- ''Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran'' 1990s missing person cases 1997 deaths 20th-century Iranian writers 20th-century journalists Assassinated editors Burials at artist's block of Behesht-e Zahra Deaths by stabbing Formerly missing Iranian people Iranian magazine editors Iranian murder victims Missing person cases in Iran People murdered in Iran 20th-century Persian-language writers Unsolved murders in Iran Year of birth uncertain {{Iran-writer-stub

Background

See also

Sources

References

External links