Shiva Nazar Ahari (; born June 10, 1984) is an Iranian human rights activist and a founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. She has been jailed several times by the

Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...

Early life

She was jailed on 14 June 2009 and held in the

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 ...

until September 23, 2009, when she was released on an equivalent of a $200,000 bail. She had been in solitary confinement for 33 days. On December 21, 2009, she was arrested once again along with several other activists who were on their way to the city of

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

to attend the funeral of

Grand Ayatollah Marja (; plural ''marājiʿ''; ) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Sh ...

Hossein Ali Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer, and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution and on ...

. The most recent hearing was held on September 4, 2010, at the 26th branch of the

Islamic Revolutionary Court Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try ...

of the

Tehran province Tehran province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tehran. Tehran province covers an area of and is located to the north of the central plateau of Iran. It was made a part of the First Region with its secretar ...

, with charges including "attempts to deface the Islamic government", "assembly with intention of conspiring against the Islamic government", "disrupting the public order" and

moharebeh In Islamic law, ''Ḥirābah'' () is a legal category that comprises highway robbery (traditionally understood as aggravated robbery or grand larceny, unlike theft, which has a different punishment), rape, and terrorism. Ḥirābah means piracy or ...

or "waging war against God". Since her arrest, the court proceeding has met with strong international criticism, the allegation being that it was an illegal measure taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran to further repress the rights of dissent and freedom of speech in the country, and her immediate release has been called for.
After 266 days in prison, she was released on September 12, 2010, on a bail of five billion Iranian rials (roughly equivalent to over $500,000). Per a summons, Shiva Nazar Ahari appeared at

Evin Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran. The district consists of an old section filled with orchards and gardens of old houses and a new section with high rises and skyscrapers. It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University campus. It is ...

on September 8, 2012, to serve a 4-year prison sentence. A number of organizations call for her immediate release –

Reporters without borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

, World association of newspapers and news publishers or

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

. Since October 2018 Shiva Nazar Ahari has been living in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

(

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

), where she resettled with the help of the

International Cities of Refuge Network The International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions which offers shelter to writers, journalists and artists at risk of persecution, with the goal of advancing freedom of expression. History It ...

(ICORN).

Awards

On Sunday, March 13, 2011, it was announced that Shiva Nazar Ahari was the 2011 recipient of the for "courageous internet reporting on human rights violations". The prize is named after

Theodor Haecker Theodor Haecker (4 June 1879 – 9 April 1945) was a German writer, translator and cultural critic. Life Haecker was a translator into German of Kierkegaard and Cardinal Newman. He wrote an essay, ''Kierkegaard and the Philosophy of Inwardness' ...

, a philosopher, writer and

anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

cultural critic.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahari, Shiva Nazar Iranian women's rights activists Living people 1984 births Iranian dissidents Iranian human rights activists Iranian women journalists Political prisoners in Iran