Omid Memarian
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Omid Memarian (in Persian: امید معماریان)is a progressive Iranian journalist and social activist. He was awarded the Golden pen at the National Press Festival in Iran at 2001. He has been blogging since 2001, in English and Persian. He used to work with Hayat-e No (New Life), Yas-e-no (New Jasmin), Vaqaye-e Ettefaqiyeh (Occurring Events) and Sharq (or Shargh = East) daily newspapers in Iran.
Omid is Editor in Chief of Volunteer Actors Quarterly which deals with civil society issues. He is a blogger which blogs on several blogs. He was detained in Iran from October 10, to December 2004. [1] On 10 October, journalist Omid Memarian was arrested on the orders of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office's Ninth Chamber. Memarian was detained for posting articles on several reformist Websites and was accused of "spreading propaganda against the regime, threatening national security, incitement to rebellion and insulting leading figures in the regime." But he had still not been charged. Five days later the authorities also searched Memarian's home and confiscated his personal notes and computer. Shortly before his arrest, Memarian had tried to attend a conference on Iranian civil society in New York. He had obtained a US visa, but en route in Frankfurt, US authorities refused to allow him to board his flight, saying that he was on a "no-fly" list. They provided no other information. He was arrested a few days after his return to Tehran. [2] Omid Memarian is currently a visiting scholar at UC-Berkeley school of journalism .[3]
