{
"authors": [
"Leily Pourzand",
"Nazila Fathi",
"Mehdi Yahyanejad",
"Roberto Toscano",
"Mehrangiz Kar",
"Omid Memarian",
"Nikahang Kowsar",
"Henry Wooster",
"Arash Sobhani",
"Maziar Bahari",
"Mehrdad Hariri",
"Haleh Esfandiari",
"Suzanne Maloney",
"Karim Sadjadpour"
],
"type": "event",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Iran"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform"
]
}
Democracy and Human Rights in Iran: A Conference in Honor of Siamak Pourzand
Thu, April 19th, 2012
Washington, D.C.
The issue of Iran has emerged as a major focus for policy and media attention in recent months. And yet even as debate has intensified over how best to address the threats posed by Tehran, a central dimension of the Iranian challenge is too often overlooked: the struggle of Iranians to advance democracy and human rights under increasingly repressive conditions.
One of the many Iranians who participated valiantly in that struggle is the writer Siamak Pourzand, whose tragic death in April 2011 after a decade of detention and harassment by the Islamic Republic underscored the world’s deep concerns about the situation in Iran today. In commemoration of his life and work, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a public conference on the state of democratic values and human rights in Iran.
The conference consisted of three panel discussions, as well as a remembrance of Mr. Pourzand by members of his family and closing remarks by Brooking Institution’s Tamara Cofman Wittes.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Leily Pourzand
Nazila Fathi
Mehdi Yahyanejad
Roberto Toscano
Mehrangiz Kar
Omid Memarian
Nikahang Kowsar
Henry Wooster
Arash Sobhani
Maziar Bahari
Mehrdad Hariri
Haleh Esfandiari
Suzanne Maloney
Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution
Suzanne Maloney is the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy. Prior to being named vice president and director, she served as the deputy director of Foreign Policy for five years. Maloney also serves on the External Research Council for the National Intelligence Council and is a frequent commentator in national and international media.
