Mohammad Davari, Iran

2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee

Davari, 36, editor-in-chief of the news website Saham News, exposed horrific abuse at the Kahrizak Detention Center, videotaping statements from detainees who said they had been raped, abused, and tortured. The center was closed in July 2009 amid public uproar, but by September of that year the coverage had landed Davari in Evin Prison. He is serving a five-year prison-term for "mutiny against the regime." His mother has written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to say that her son has himself been tortured in custody. Now in solitary confinement, Davari has not been allowed contact with his family for more than eight months. The journalist had served his country and paid a high price. As a young student, Davari volunteered to fight in the Iran-Iraq War, during which he suffered eye and leg injuries.