- Roya Toloui
Roya Toloui (
1966 - ) is a prominent Iranian Kurdish journalist, human rights activist and feminist, currently residing in US. She was born inBaneh in westernIran . She received high school diploma at Baneh and studiedpathology at theUniversity of Mashhad .She was the
Editor-in-Chief of "Rasan" (Rising up), a Kurdish monthly magazine about women's issues. Three issues of the magazine were published inSanandaj in spring and summer of2005 until it was closed down in summer of 2005 by the Iranian judiciary. She is also the founder of the "Association of the Kurdish Women Supporting Peace in Kurdistan". She is also a member ofKurdish PEN .Due to her outspoken criticism of authorities and also defence of the rights of Kurdish and Iranian women, she was tried in a Revolutionary court in April 2005 and was accused of endangering national security. [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/69742/?PHPSESSID=] Following demonstrations in Kurdish inhabited areas of western Iran, she was arrested on 2 August 2005, and held in prison for 66 days until freed on bail in October 2005. [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/69742/?PHPSESSID=] Her case of imprisonment was highlighted in the
International PEN 's "Day of the Imprisoned Writer" on November 2005. [http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=26&nid=298] After release, she fled Iran forTurkey and finally she sought refuge inUnited States in April 2006.External links
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130432005?open&of=ENG-IRN Amensty International's Report, August 2005]
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engMDE130262006?open&of=eng-IRN Imprisonment of Roya Toloui]
* [http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=447ff7ab20 UNHCR- Amnesty International Report May 2006 - Iran] .
* [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/2/018e8424-74c5-4f77-a00b-444cdc86061c.html About Roya Toloui in "Radio Free Europe"]
* [http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12156 Dr. Toloui arrives in US]
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