Mashallah Shamsolvaezin

Who is Mashallah Shamsolvaezin?

Mashallah Shamsolvaezin is an Iranian newspaper and magazine publisher who edited many of post-revolutionary Iran's first and most widely circulated independent newspapers, including Kayhan, Jame'eh, Neshat, and Asr-e Azadegan. He currently serves as the spokesman for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press, and also as vice president of the Association of Iranian Journalists. A recipient of the 2000 CPJ International Press Freedom Award, Shamsolvaezin has been imprisoned multiple times for his journalistic activities. On June 29, 2014, he was charged with "propaganda against the state" and banned from leaving Iran. As of July 2014, he is on bail.