Akbar Ganji is considered Iran's leading investigative journalist. He is also the author of the best-selling book Dungeon of Ghosts, a collection of Ganji's newspaper articles published in early 2000, in which he implicated leading conservative figures in the "serial murders" of five writers and intellectuals in 1998.

Ganji was arrested on April 22, 2000 following his participation in an academic and cultural conference held at the Heinrich Böll Institute in Berlin on April 7-9 entitled "Iran after the elections," at which political and social reform in Iran were publicly debated. There are said to be several cases pending against Ganji for articles he has written, including charges of 'propaganda against the regime' and publishing lies, insult and libel.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 12, 2005

Statement on a Call for the Unconditional Releases of Akbar Ganji in Iran

Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist who since 1999 has been routinely sentenced to prison by the Iranian government for advocating free speech, is again in jail because of his political views. Through his now month-long hunger strike, Mr. Ganji is demonstrating that he is willing to die for his right to express his opinion. President Bush is saddened by recent reports that Mr. Ganji's health has been failing and deeply concerned that the Iranian government has denied him access to his family, medical treatment, and legal representation. Mr. Ganji is sadly only one victim of a wave of repression and human rights violations engaged in by the Iranian regime. His calls for freedom deserve to be heard. His valiant efforts should not go in vain. The President calls on all supporters of human rights and freedom, and the United Nations, to take up Ganji's case and the overall human rights situation in Iran. The President also calls on the Government of Iran to release Mr. Ganji immediately and unconditionally and to allow him access to medical assistance. Mr. Ganji, please know that as you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

Release Akbar Ganji: Jailed for Exposing Iranian Government's Complicity in Murder

Imprisoned Iranian journalist and human rights activist Akbar Ganji is gravely ill and in need of immediate medical attention.

Ganji suffers from an acute and worsening asthma condition and severe back pain. A vocal critic of the Iranian government, Ganji is being held incommunicado in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison.

Akbar Ganji was tried and imprisoned as a result of his work to expose and bring to justice government officials involved in the murder of intellectuals and journalists in the 1990s, which came to be known in Iran as the "serial murders."

Several hundred protesters gathered outside Tehran University on Tuesday, July 12 to demand the release of Akbar Ganji. According to news sources, Iranian police broke up the protest and beat several of the protesters, including a young woman, and made at least six arrests.

The Iranian authorities that have imprisoned Ganji are responsible for his health and safety. Join Human Rights First in calling for the Iranian authorities to allow Akbar Ganji immediate access to urgently- needed medical care.

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http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Ganji

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http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/ca mpaign/Ganji/explanation

Iran: Leading Dissident's Life in Danger

End Persecution of Peaceful Critics

(New York, July 13, 2005) -- The life of Akbar Ganji, Iran's imprisoned leading dissident, is under serious threat due to his illness and a month-long hunger strike, Human Rights Watch said today. Ganji, an investigative journalist who was sentenced to prison by the Iranian government in 2000, has lost more than 40 pounds during the past month.

"Human Rights Watch is extremely concerned for Ganji's health. The Iranian judiciary's refusal to release Ganji for medical treatment is cruel and inhumane," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "It is a serious contravention of the most basic humanitarian standards, and the international community should strongly condemn it."