''Rooz'' (, literally ''day'') was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
news website. It was mostly staffed by exiled Iranian journalists including
Masoud Behnoud
Masoud Behnoud (; born in Tehran) is an Iranian journalist, He began his career as a journalist in 1964. Since then he has worked as an investigating journalist for different newspapers.
Behnoud lives in the United Kingdom and works as a journ ...
,
Ebrahim Nabavi
Seyyed Ebrahim Nabavi (; 13 November 1958 – 15 January 2025) was an Iranian satirist, writer, diarist and researcher. He contributed to the news website ''Gooya'' and the online newspaper ''Rooz'', and had a satirical program for the website a ...
,
Farah Karimi
Farahnaz "Farah" Karimi (; born 15 November 1960 in Hassanabad Yasukand, garuss) is an Iranian-Dutch politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands between 1998 and 2006 for GreenLeft. Since 2019 she has been a S ...
, and
Nikahang Kowsar
Nikahang Kowsar (; born 1969), also known as The Dung Beetle is an Iranian-Canadian cartoonist, journalist, and blogger, currently living in Washington, D.C., US. Kowsar was also a reformist candidate for the second term of city council of Tehra ...
with occasional articles by activists and journalists inside Iran, including
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi (; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian Nobel laureate, lawyer, writer, teacher and a former judge and founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering effor ...
and
Ahmad Zeidabadi
Ahmad Zeidabadi (; born 21 July 1965) is an Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst and the secretary general of Office for Strengthening Unity. He is one of the notable figures of the Iranian reform movement.
Zeidabadi has ...
. Another contributor is
Hossein Derakhshan
Hossein Derakhshan (; born January 7, 1975), also known as Hoder, is an Iranian-Canadian blogger, journalist, and researcher who was imprisoned in Tehran from November 2008 to November 2014. He is credited with starting the blogging revolution i ...
, who has been under arrest in Tehran since 1 November 2008.
It was first published on the web on May 10, 2005. It is published by "Iran
Gooya
Gooya () is a Persian-language website started by Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to ...
" (registered in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
).
Controversy
In November 2006,
Hossein Derakhshan
Hossein Derakhshan (; born January 7, 1975), also known as Hoder, is an Iranian-Canadian blogger, journalist, and researcher who was imprisoned in Tehran from November 2008 to November 2014. He is credited with starting the blogging revolution i ...
who maintained the Rooz website claimed on his blog that he was accused of working for the
Islamic Republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...
government and therefore not paid for a year by Rooz.
[Hossein Bastani, editor of Rooz, a Hivos-funded project, refuses to pay staff's rights, accusing them of working with Islamic Republic to stifle free speech](_blank)
Furthermore, he hoped that Hivos, a Dutch organization that helps to fund for Rooz, would pressure them to allow more freedom of speech to their staff.
In response,
Nikahang Kowsar
Nikahang Kowsar (; born 1969), also known as The Dung Beetle is an Iranian-Canadian cartoonist, journalist, and blogger, currently living in Washington, D.C., US. Kowsar was also a reformist candidate for the second term of city council of Tehra ...
claimed that Derakhshan has taken the website "hostage" and that he demands "ransom", and asked director
Hossein Bastani to confront Derakhshan.
[http://nikahang.blogspot.com/2006/11/blog-post_116326605491307166.html ]
See also
*
Radio Zamaneh
Radio Zamaneh () is an Amsterdam-based Persian language exile news platform and former radio broadcaster with a leftist approach. "Zamaneh" is the Persian literary term for "time".
Radio Zamaneh is an independent Persian-language exile media and ...
References
External links
*
Archive of English articles on RoozHivos website
Mass media in Iran
{{Iran-stub