Iran Demonstrates the Importance of a Human Rights Award

by Matt Kelley · 2009-11-03 09:06:00 UTC
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For the first time in the 18-year history of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, the recipient won’t be allowed by his country to accept the honor in person.

Iranian activist and journalist Emaddedin Baghi has campaigned for years against the death penalty and on behalf of prisoners' rights in his country, and has been sentenced to prison and reprimanded dozens of times for speaking out against Iran's cruel criminal justice system.

Yesterday, Iran prevented him from traveling to receive the human rights award in Geneva. The award is given to human rights advocates who speak out despite considerable risk, and Iran managed to demonstrate the risk under which Baghi works by denying him a travel visa.

The award jury said he Baghi was given the award "for his courage to stand up for his conviction that the Koran condones neither the death penalty nor arbitrary killings and detention." Read more about the award here.

Despite Baghi’s work and increased world awareness of injustice in the country following this year’s contested elections, demonstrations and mass arrests, Iran hasn’t slowed its frenzied pace of executions. A man who accepted responsibility for a suicide bombing was hanged yesterday, bringing the total number of executions so far in Iran this year to 243.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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