Masoud Behnoud
Massoud Behnoud, (مسعود بهنود in Persian) a prominent Iranian journalist, historian and writer, was born on July 27, 1947 in Tehran. He started his work as a journalist in 1964. During his long career he worked as an investigating journalist for different newspapers. He founded more than 20 newspapers and magazines, none of them are currently in publication.[1][2]
Masoud Behnoud lives in the United Kingdom working as a freelance journalist for a number of media organisations, mainly BBC Persian Service, for which he has worked for the past fourteen years. His debut in the west was the launch of ‘Khanoum’, by Pegasus Elliott McKenzie in November 2008.[3]
Biography
Behnoud started his career as a journalist in 1964 and became one of the most important and active figures in the trade union of the Iranian journalists During his career Behnoud produced and presented programmes for the National Iranian Radio and Television, and he founded a number of newspapers and magazines many of which were banned with the advent of 1979 Islamic revolution of Iran, with the editor and senior members of staff being arrested. An attempt to publish other newspapers later on was met with public interest though they were all closed[3] Between 1971-79 he was the chief editor of the most influential and popular daily in Iran, Ayandegan. This newspaper was closed in 1979 on the orders of Ayatollah Khomeini and its editor and senior staff were all imprisoned. During 1972-79 he also worked as a producer, writer and speaker for the National Iranian Radio and Television. In 1979 Massoud Behnoud became the chief editor of the weekly Tehran-e Mosavvar, which was shut down by the Islamic government after 30 issues during the crackdown of all non-governmental and independent newspapers.[1][2]
Between 1972 and 1979 Massoud Behnoud was one of the most important and active figures of the trade union of Iranian journalists.[1][2]
Crackdown of the journalists
From 1979 till 1985, after the closure of Tehran-e Mosavar and of the trade union of Iranian journalists Massoud Behnoud didn't have any possibilities to continue his work. From 1981-1985 he led a low profile existence (more or less in hiding) in Teheran. In 1985 he was one of the founders of Adineh, the most prominent and influential social and literary monthly in Iran. For more than 13 years Massoud Behnoud was one of the leading members of the editorial board and published a great number of essays and commentaries in Adineh. In his articles he supported the freedom of speech and of the press. He struggled against censorship and tried to support the free circulation of information.
Once in 1995 the trade union of Armenian writers invited 22 Iranian writers and journalist for a visit to Armenistan. Massoud Behnoud was one of these delegates. In a conspiracy to kill all of the delegates the Iranian security police tried to divert the bus they were travelling with on a steep valley. They only survived by chance.
In 1996 the chief editor of "Adineh", Faraj Sarkohi, was arrested and in 1998 Adineh was closed on the order of the Islamic court. The imprisonment of Faraj Sarkohi aroused an International campaign from Reporter sans Frontieres, the International PEN-Center, amnesty international and other human right organizations as well as the European Union. In 1997 Massoud Behnoud joined a host of other journalists to publish the Teheran daily Jameh. His articles and commentaries were received with a great deal of public interest. With the closure of Jameh he continued his work in the other newly found dailies Tous, Neshat, Asr-e Azadegan and the most lately Bonyan. All of this newspapers have been closed down.[4]
Following a series of murders in 1999 during which some prominent Iranian writers and intellectuals have been killed by the security police, Massoud Behnoud's name was also discovered on the list of those writers and intellectuals who hade been earmarked for assassination.[4]
Arrest and imprisonment
After the crackdown on Iranian newspapers, Massoud Behnoud was imprisoned for 23 months. Other well known journalists, including Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, Akbar Ganji, Emadeddin Baqi and Ebrahim Nabavi, were also jailed. Behnoud was fined the equivalent of 15.000 USD. The court accused him of "having provoked public opinion, insulting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the commander of the Revolutionary guards". Behnoud's imprisonment provoked condemnation from many international human rights groups, including Amnesty International, International PEN and Reporters Without Borders.[1]
Prison
Serving a period of six months, two of which he spent in solitary confinement, Massoud Behnoud was released on temporary bail of approximately US$40,000.
On 1 June 2002, while Behnoud was engaged in a European lecture tour, the Iranian judiciary announced that an order for his arrest had once again been issued. On base of this order he had to come back to Iran to serve the remainder of his 16 months term in prison, but he refused to go back.[1]
Books
Masoud Behnoud has written six books on the contemporary history of Iran, which are the result of research and study of documents. He ended up writing historic novels by adopting the role that his grandmother, a Qajar princess, played when he was a little boy, and today his works have come to make their mark in the contemporary literary scene in Iran. His trilogy of books, Ameeneh, Khanoum and The Broken Urn, is aimed at familiarizing the reader with the history of Iran and prominent international events going back to the eighteenth century up to present times.
Ameeneh, which has so far sold 100,000 copies in Iran, is the story of a woman who was the mother of all Qajars. She meets with Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Montesquieu and Voltaire as well as being received in the courts of Europe and Russia. Khanoum was born at the beginning of the 20th century and her life is a gripping story encapsulating the history of nineteen century Iran and Europe as well as the two world wars. The story spans a period from the 5th Qajar ruler right up to the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Khanoum has so far been reprinted fourteen times having sold 250,000 copies in Iran and still selling.
The Broken Urn is the story of Alice, a contemporary of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and was instrumental in the fate of the last Iranian monarchy, the Pahlavi regime. Alice went to school with the last king of Iran, and the bond that developed between them and two other Iranian students led Alice to long term interest and involvement in the affairs of Iran including the 1979 revolution. But what did motivate Alice in taking such an active role; was it love, hatred, or was it indeed carrying out her duties as an employee of the Secret Service. The Broken Urn was completed last year and is pending the permission of the authorities in Iran to be published, yet this is one of his most accomplished masterpieces. Behnoud uses different styles in the three books and his heroines are women who were in Europe and spent part of their lives with the Europeans.[3]
See also
- Intellectual movements in Iran
- Mehdi Jami
- Ahmad Zeidabadi
- Alireza Nourizadeh
- List of Iranian Intellectuals