Ahmad Zeidabadi

Ahmad Zeidabadi is an Iranian journalist, political analyst, who also has taught political science at Tehran University. His articles have appeared in many newspapers and other media such as Rooz and BBC Persian.

Research and teaching

The Iranian Studies Group of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recorded a lecture by him on "Ethnic Conflicts in Iran".

The "wiped off the map" controversy

In a New York Times interview over the "wiped off the map" phrase in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 2005 speech, he said "It seems that in the early days of the revolution the word 'map' was used because it appeared to be the best meaningful translation for what he said. The words 'sahneh roozgar' are metaphorical and do not refer to anything specific. Maybe it was interpreted as 'book of countries,' and the closest thing to that was a map. Since then, we have often heard Israel bayad az naghshe jographya mahv gardad — Israel must be wiped off the geographical map. Hard-liners have used it in their speeches."

His comments need to be read closely; he agrees that some Iranian politicans have said Israel should be wiped off the map, but that Ahmadinejad did not use those words in the speech in question.

Dissent and imprisonment

An outside director of the Advar Takhim student organization, he commented on its political activism in 2007, explaining activists were becoming timid for more reasons than the direct threat from government authorities. "The fact is that the domestic and international conditions of Iran have become so complex that it is not possible to present an accurate picture or analysis of the situation. Situations that are not easy to analyze and where predictions are not easy to make, normally lead to conservatism." He has been imprisoned for political dissent. "the director of Advar Tahkim Organization and a prominent journalist, was detained on 13 June at his home. A person posing as a delivery man lured him out of his house and unidentified agents kidnapped and took him away. In protest against the illegal manner of his detention, lack of charges against him, and the conditions of his detention, Zaidabadi was on a hunger strike during the first 17 days of his detention.

"His wife, Mahdieh Mohammadi, was able to visit him only after 65 days of having no access to him. During their visit, Zaidabadi told her that he had spent 35 days in solitary confinement, in total isolation, where there was no sound, no light, and no human contact. He told her he felt like he was in a grave, developing serious mental disorientation, and becoming suicidal. Since he could not find any means for committing suicide, he started to scream nonstop. The prison guards eventually realized that he is on the verge of insanity and transferred him to a different solitary cell.

"During the visit, Zaidabadi told his wife that interrogators had asked him to give guarantees that he would never engage in political activism, although they had not formally charged him. Mohammadi told the Campaign that since that visit, she has had no contacts from Zaidabadi and she had received no other information about him or his case.

"Mohammad Sharif, Zaidabadi’s lawyer, has been pursuing his case with Judiciary officials on a daily basis, but they have refused to inform him about any details. Sharif does not even know what court branch Zaidabadi’s case is being reviewed in and he has not been able to access his client to sign papers appointing him as his lawyer.

Education

He is an alumnus of Tehran University.