Shahram Homayoun () is an Iranian political dissident, political activist, and the owner of "Channel one," a

Persia 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 ...

n satellite TV station based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

that broadcasts into Iran daily.

Exile

Shahram Homayoun fled Iran for the United States in 1991. He was a marked man in

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 ...

, because he supported democracy and human rights and his opposition to the Iranian government. He has resided in

ever since. While in Iran he was the Editor of the "Hamkari" Magazine for two years, Editor of Kargaran (Workers) Magazine for three years, Associate Editor of the daily "Bamdad" (morning) Newspaper for two years. His famous interviews were with Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, Sadegh Khalkhali, Ahmad Khomeini (the son of Ayatollah Khomeini), Ayatollah Shariatmadari, Ayatollah Sadegh Rohani,

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

and President of Pakistan General Zia ul Haq.

Interpol Arrest Warrant

According to the Iranian government, Mr. Homayoun "encouraged his audience to engage in acts of terrorism against the Islamic government such as writing slogans (on walls) and resisting the security forces." Independent observers accuse the Iranian government of using Interpol to target political dissidents abroad. Despite Interpol's "Red Notice" against Homayoun, however,

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

has assured him that he would be safe as long as he remains in the United States.

Activities

Homayoun has established a Persian satellite TV network based in Los Angeles that broadcasts 24/7 into Iran. The TV channel, named "Channel One," includes programs by Homayoun himself as well as other dissidents and political activists such as

Alireza Nourizadeh Ali Reza Nourizadeh (, born 24 June 1949 in Tehran) is an Iranian scholar, literary figure, journalist, political activist and an expert on Iranian contemporary history. Career Nourizadeh is a political refugee from Iran. After fleeing to the U ...

and

Mohsen Sazegara Mohsen Sazegara (; born 5 January 1955) is an Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. He was the founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He held several offices in the government of ...

. Abbas Pahlevan, Dr. Danesh Foroughi, Dr. Hassan Rahnavardi, and Dr. Manouchehr Ganji. He has also started the ''Ma Hastim'' movement, which, according to some analysts, has had a "significant influence on Iranian masses," as seen by the "numerous slogans" written on Iran's city walls in its support. He organized alongside other political organizations daily demonstrations in Los Angeles during the 2009 Green Movement in Iran. His TV station and Ma Hastim were instrumental in keeping the Los Angeles demonstrations strong and provided the Western media with all the news coming out of Iran during those days. Recently the ''Ma Hastim'' movement, funded by its supporters, built a symbolic cemetery in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

containing symbolic graves and tombstones of Iranian dissidents and political activists, such as

Neda Agha Soltan Neda Agha-Soltan ( – ''Nedā Āghā-Soltān''; 23 January 1983 – 20 June 2009) was an Iranian student of philosophy, who was participating in the 2009 presidential election protests with her music teacher, and was walking back to ...

, killed by the Iranian government since 2009.

Views

Homayoun supports Iranian/Persian nationalism and has been instrumental in keeping Iran's rightful/historical flag, the "Lion and Sun," flying high. This historical flag differentiates between the Islamic Republic's opposition and its cronies. He supports regime change in Iran and believes that the government in Iran should be treated "like South Africa during the apartheid where they were banned from all international organizations, where their sports teams were boycotted, and its officials couldn't travel to the West, and most importantly how their ruling classes assets were seized and frozen abroad."

References

External links

Channel One Official WebsiteShahram Homayoun Official Website"Ma Hastim" Movement Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homayoun, Shahram Iranian television personalities Iranian exiles Iranian activists Iranian democracy activists Iranian dissidents Living people Iranian escapees Iranian emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people)