Lily Mazahery

Lily Mazahery
Lily Mazahery in 2007, Washington D.C.
Born	October 10, 1972(1972-10-10) Tehran, Iran
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, founder and president of the Legal Rights Institute, founder and principal of the Mazahery Law Firm
Known for	Representing high profile political dissidents and victims of human rights abuse, international human rights activism

Lily Mazahery (born October 10, 1972) is an Iranian-American lawyer, human rights activist,^[1] and an expert source on Iran.^[2] She is principal of Mazahery Law Firm and the founder and president of Legal Rights Institute (LRI), an international non-governmental organization (NGO).

Overview

Mazahery received her Juris Doctor in 1999 and was admitted to the District of Columbia bar on December 2, 2002. Mazahery's practice primarily focuses on limmigration law and international human rights. She has also assisted individuals who have been victims of human rights violations in Iran and other countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.^[3][4] As a member of various international rights organizations, groups, and campaigns, Mazahery has been a strong advocate of equal rights for women in Islamic countries, which include the abolishment of stoning executions and honour killings.^[5]

Mazahery is a strong advocate of women's rights and equal legal treatment of men and women in all cultures and societies. She has dedicated a substantial portion of her professional work to exposing violations of women's rights by oppressive regimes and saving the lives of women and girls who have been unjustly placed on death row in Islamic countries.^[6] She was selected as a celebrity judge for HAMSA's The "Dream Deferred" essay contest on Civil Rights in the Middle East along with world-renowned feminist Gloria Steinem, and Dr. Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and a professor at Johns Hopkins University.^[7]

Mazahery has publicly opposed Islamic Law, Sharia.^[8][9] She is also an opponent of stoning for executions, which are carried out in certain countries that observe Sharia, including in the Islamic Republic of Iran.^[3][5][9] In a speech delivered to members of the United States Congress in 2006, Mazahery provided a description of stoning executions.^[10] In the same speech, Mazahery condemned Iran's government for committing a variety of inhumane acts against its own people, and called upon American lawmakers to take "immediate and concrete steps" that would force Iranian officials to permanently ban stoning executions.^[10]

In her most recent book, "One Can Make A Difference: Original stories by the Dalai Lama, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Dennis Kucinch, Russel Simmons, Bridgitte Bardot and Dozens of Other Extraordinary Indiv.iduals" PETA founder and president, Ingrid Newkirk, included a chapter on Mazahery's work on behalf of Iranian women who were persecuted based on their gender, including some who had been sentenced to execution by stoning on charges of adultery. ^[11] In a November 2008 interview, Newkirk was asked whether she favored any particular essay over others in her new book. She responded with the following explanation:

I think the one by Lily Mazahery — an essay on Iranian women who are stoned to death or buried alive for being in the company of a man or even a boy and suspected of having had a sexual intercourse. She’s helping them enormously from her daily work in Washington, D.C. Instead of just going about her daily work, she has carved a lifeline for these women and literally tries her very best to save their lives with what she does.^[12]

Political Activism

Mazahery has publicly opposed Iran's clerical regime and Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran.^[13] In 2006, she publicly opposed Khatami's speech at Harvard University.^[14]

In September 2008, at the same time that Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak at the United Nations headquarters, Mazahery spoke as an expert source on Iran in a number of venues in New York and Washington DC, including before a panel in the United States Congress.^[15][16][17] In Spring 2008, Mazahery helped Iranian dissident Ahmad Batebi flee Iran for the U.S., where he was granted political asylum.^[18]

Mazahery is well known for her effective utilization of technology to communicate with and rescue political dissidents, activists, and opposition voices from Middle Eastern countries, particularly Iran. She has led panels at the World Technology Summit in New York City in 2009 and 2010 about the usage of technology to promote democracy and human rights by activists living under the rule of oppressive regimes.^[19]

Controversy

On September 15, 2011, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility, found that Mazahery had committed "multiple acts of dishonesty and even criminal conduct." The Hearing Committee concluded that Mazahery committed 23 violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct and that she should be disbarred.

See also

• List of famous Persian women
• Persian women's movement
• Human rights in Iran

References and notes

1. ^ http://fora.tv/speaker/10951/Lily_Mazahery FORA.tv,A Brave New World: How New Media Impacts Social Change - List of Speakers
2. ^ http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/pp.aspx?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=2066161&printmode=1
3. ^ ^{a b} Hentoff, Nat (September 19, 2006). "A Marriage Made in Hell: Iranians and Iraqis work together to advance an evil cause". Lily Mazahery: Rescuing women condemned for "impurity". "Mazahery has worked to bring sunlight to the names and fates of individual victims of the barbaric Islamic regime in Iran. " (The Village Voice). http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-09-19/news/a-marriage-made-in-hell. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
4. ^ "No More Stones! An image by Lily Mazahery". Love America First. August 10, 2006. http://loveamericafirst.blogspot.com/2006/08/no-more-stones-image-by-lili-mazahery.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "The International Campaign Against Honour Killings". http://www.stophonourkillings.com/. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
6. ^ . http://hamsaweb.com/portal/speakers.html. 
7. ^ "The Dream Deferred Judges.". http://www.hamsaweb.org/essay/judges.php. 
8. ^ Kurtz, Howard (September 21, 2006). "The President's New Direction". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/09/21/BL2006092100286_pf.html. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Hentoff, Nat (September 12, 2006). "Stoning Women to Death -- Coming soon to the United Nations: Iran's chief executioner of women". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-09-12/news/stoning-women-to-death/. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Mazahery, Lily (April 18, 2006). "Lily Mazahery -- Text of Speech Before Members of Congress on International Women's Day Concerning Human Rights Violations of Women in Iran". http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976745401. 
11. ^ Newkirk, Ingrid (September 17, 2008). "One Can Make a Difference: Original stories by the Dali Lama, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Dennis Kucinch, Russel Simmons and Dozens of Other Extraordinary Individuals (Hardcover)". Adams Media. http://www.amazon.com/One-Can-Make-Difference-Extraordinary/dp/1598696297. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
12. ^ Stern, Henry (November 19, 2008). "Interview with Ingrid Newkirk". Williamtte Week. Portland, Oregon's News Weekly. http://wweek.com/editorial/3502/11841/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
13. ^ Mazahery, Lily (September 11, 2006). "IRAN - Lily Mazahery Responds to Khatami At Harvard University". Persian Journal. http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/16/17698. Retrieved 2009-03-12. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Hentoff, Nat (September 19, 2006). "A Marriage Made in Hell Iranians and Iraqis work together to advance an evil cause". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-09-19/news/a-marriage-made-in-hell&page=1. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
15. ^ "Ahamadinejad at the U.N.: An International Affront". Foundation for Defense of Democracies. September 23, 2008. http://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_displayevents&Itemid=362&eventid=144. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
16. ^ "Expert Sources on Iran - The Israel Project". http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.2066161/k.91F0/Iran_Press_Kit.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
17. ^ "A Closer Look at Iran's Foreign and Domestic Policies and Its Nuclear Program". The Israel Project. September 2008. http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=5935289. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
18. ^ Shane, Scott; Michael Gordon (July 13, 2008). "Dissident’s Tale of Epic Escape From Iran’s Vise". " Batebi contacted Mazaerhy through a Yahoo chat site. (The New York Times). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/middleeast/13dissident.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
19. ^ "A Brave New World: How New Media Impacts Social Change". http://fora.tv/speaker/10951/Lily_Mazahery. 

External links

• charges against Lily Mazahery for ethics violations
• news report
• transcript of speech on human rights situation in Iran
• New York Times Article on Lily Mazahery and Ahmad Batebi
• law office listing
• Village Voice article
• UK Channel 4 News Video Clip on Ahmad Batebi and his human rights work with the help of his lawyer, Lily Mazahery
• Among first to report Delara Darabi's execution.
• First to report Roxana Saberi's release
• Conversation with Delara Darabi's father
• Quoted on new media
• Appearance at 2009 World Technology Summit
• Role in Ahmad Batebi's settling in USA
• Quoted at Sarah Palin's blog
• Quoted re: treatment of journalists in Iran
• Quoted re: human rights violations in Iran

Persondata
Name	Mazahery, Lily
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 10, 1972
Place of birth	Tehran, Iran
Date of death
Place of death