AN INSPIRING MAN OF COURAGE

By Betsy Newmark  •  August 21, 2005 02:22 PM

Roya Hakakian is an Iranian Jewish woman and author of Journey from the Land of No about her experiences growing up in revolutionary Iran. Today she writes movingly about Akbar Ganji’s hunger strike in an Iranian prison. He is dying in order to bring notice to his calls for a free referendum in Iran to end the rule of the Supreme Ayatollah.

The threat of a nuclear standoff with Tehran is, by most accounts, at least 10 years away, but the democratic antidote to that possibility is perishing as I write. A prominent investigative journalist, Ganji has been in jail since 2000 for putting out a slew of articles, books and lectures that amount to a comprehensive one-man campaign against Iran’s ruling clerics. From prison, he has sent out a daring manifesto containing the five words no one else in the country has dared to utter: “The supreme leader must go!” — a declaration all the more powerful for being a dramatic echo of the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolutionary war cry against the shah in the 1970s.

Now, Ganji is in the end stages of a second hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. Yet even with his blood pressure falling and clots accumulating in his veins, he still stands as the most formidable challenge to Iran’s theocracy in 26 years.

The courage and dedication of this man are awe-inspiring. He seems to be in his last days of his hunger strike, but his martyrdom will be an example for all in Iran who have hope of reform.

~ For the latest breaking news, be sure to join Michelle's e-mail list ~
Posted in: Uncategorized

Add your opinion

Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.

You must be logged in to post a comment.


First Day of 2012 Open Thread & Aspirin-Swapping Roundtable

January 1, 2012 11:45 AM by Doug Powers

235 Comments

Happy new year!

Reports: Miners trapped in Mullan, Idaho; 6 hospitalized

December 15, 2011 01:34 AM by Michelle Malkin

23 Comments

Pinheads at Penn State

November 10, 2011 02:50 AM by Michelle Malkin

186 Comments

10 years ago: My generation’s bloody wake-up call

September 10, 2011 10:07 PM by Michelle Malkin

44 Comments

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene Open Thread

August 28, 2011 12:25 PM by Doug Powers

104 Comments

Quake alert: Shake, rattle, and roll!

August 23, 2011 02:03 PM by Michelle Malkin

231 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 8, 2011 11:07 AM by Doug Powers

57 Comments

Christ the Lord is risen today

April 24, 2011 09:32 AM by Michelle Malkin

100 Comments


Categories: Uncategorized

Babalu Blog

» Greece is Burning
Follow me on Twitter Follow me on Facebook