Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi

Banafsheh Zand (born 1961) is an Iranian writer, film producer and human rights activist.

Life

Zand was born in Tehran to journalist parents. She attended the American University of Paris as well as at the IDHEC, the Institute for the Advanced Cinematographic Studies. In 1982 she went to the United States and continued studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She studied film and art history as well as linguistics and semiotics.

In 1993, Banafsheh returned to the world of TV production, as a freelance line producer of documentary films.

In 2001 her father, Siamak Pourzand, became a political prisoner in Iran.[1] He committed suicide in 2011, in what Zand said was a protest against the government.[2]

Banafsheh regularly writes for National Review,[3] Defense & Foreign Affairs and FrontPage Magazine. She is a regular commentator on Iranian politics on the John Batchelor Show and has appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal and Voice of America TV, and Fox TV with Eric Shawn.

Banafsheh is also the editor of the English department of the website Iran Press News. She also edits Iranian news service, Planet-Iran.com.

Activism

Zand is a member of the board of advisers of the International Free Press Society.[4] In 2007 she helped organize in the St Petersburg (Florida) Secular Islam Summit, which she addressed along with other thinkers and reformers of Islam such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan and Irshad Manji.[5] The group released the St Petersburg Declaration which urges world governments to, among other things, reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostasy, which the signers believe to be in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[6]

References
  1. Wilson, Reid (20 June 2009). "Iranian groups lack lobbying power, cohesion". Thehill.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. Eli Lake (1 May 2011). "Longtime Iranian dissident kills self 'to prove his disgust for regime'". The Washington Times. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 1, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida - Religion - 27/02/2007". Kuna.net.kw. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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