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Moving Category:People from Kerman Province to Category:People from Kerman province per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

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{{Short description|Norwegian-Iranian neuroscientist and human rights advocate}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
|image = Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.jpg
|birth_date = {{bda|1971|4|df=y|21}}
|birth_place = [[Kerman]], [[Iran]]
|known_for = [[Human Rights]] activist, [[neuroscience]]
|occupation = Professor and [[neuroscientist]]
}}

'''Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam''', (born 21 April 1971) is a Norwegian-Iranian [[neuroscientist]] and [[human rights]] advocate.

== Early life ==
Amiry-Moghaddam spent his first few years in the city of [[Kerman]] about 1000 kilometers south-east of [[Tehran]] in Iran. He arrived in Norway as a refugee of minor age, via [[Pakistan]] in 1985.

Amiry-Moghaddam completed his medical studies in 1996 at the [[University of Oslo]], and later obtained a [[PhD]] at the Center for Neuroscience and Molecular Biology<ref>[http://www.cmbn.no/ Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience]</ref> in that university. In 2004, he received the King's gold medal for the best medical doctorate at the University of Oslo. Amiry-Moghaddam has been a collaborator to [[Peter Agre]], who received the [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] in 2003. Amiry-Moghaddam spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at [[Harvard Medical School]] in 2006.

== Career ==
Amiry-Moghaddam was awarded the [[Anders Jahre#Anders Jahre Awards for Medical Research|Anders Jahre Awards]] medicine prize for young scientists in 2008,<ref>[http://www.med.uio.no/imb/jahre/abstracts/abstract2008.html Anders Jahre's Awards for Medical Research]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He is a member of the [[Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnva.no/c26848/artikkel/vis.html?tid=27630|title=Gruppe 7: Medisinske fag|publisher=[[Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]]|language=Norwegian|accessdate=28 October 2009}}</ref>

In 2013, Amiry-Moghaddam was selected by an independent panel as one of the 10 "brightest minds" in Norway.<ref>[http://pluss.vg.no/2013/05/18/1228/1228_20370084 Norges smarteste hoder]</ref> The list was published in the Norwegian newspaper [[Verdens Gang|VG]].

Amiry-Moghaddam is well known as a defender of human rights. He received the Norwegian [[Amnesty International]]'s human rights prize in 2007<ref>[http://www.amnesty.no/web.nsf/pages/6BF8201921704CF9C12573A7003BA8A9 The Amnesty Human Rights Prize 2007: Mahmood Amiry-Moghadddam – an every day hero in the fight for human rights]</ref> for his work against the human rights violations in Iran.

Today, he works as a Professor in Medicine and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at the University of Oslo. He is also co-founder and spokesperson for the NGO [[Iran Human Rights]]<ref>[http://iranhr.net Iran Human Rights]</ref> which monitors the violations of human rights in Iran.

== Activism ==
Amiry-Moghaddam began using his voice to raise awareness of the Iranian authorities' human rights violations in 2004, the same year he received the King's Gold Medal for best medical doctorate at the University of Oslo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-01-01 |title=Tror det iranske regimets undergang er nær |url=https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/tror-det-iranske-regimets-undergang-er-naer/65196244 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=dagbladet.no |language=no}}</ref> Before the audience with His Majesty [[Harald V of Norway|King Harald]] at the Palace, he told the TV2 online newspaper that he would "thank the King for the medal and for receiving me. I would also like to say a few words about human rights in Iran, and consider giving the King a book about everyone who has fallen for freedom in Iran."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mæland |first=Kjetil |date=2004-10-18 |title=Lege-geni møter Kongen |url=https://www.nettavisen.no/12-95-291710 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=Nettavisen |language=no}}</ref> Later in 2004, Amiry-Moghaddam's efforts in Norway were decisive for Leyla Mafi escaping the death penalty in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stopp vold mot kvinner: Norsk innsats kan ha reddet Leylas liv |url=https://amnesty.no/stopp-vold-mot-kvinner-norsk-innsats-kan-ha-reddet-leylas-liv |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=amnesty.no |language=nb}}</ref>

===Case of Leyla Mafi===
Leyla had been forced into prostitution by her family when she was just eight years old. She became pregnant and had her first child when she was nine years old, and gave birth to twins five years later at the age of 14.<ref name=leyla2>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/iran-the-last-executioner-of-children?page=19|title=Iran has the status of being the world's last official executioner of children. Amnesty International is publishing this report...|website=amnestyusa.org}}</ref> She was arrested and received 100 lashes each time she gave birth. In addition to being repeatedly raped, Leyla was sold to older men as a [[Nikah mut'ah|sigheh]], or temporary bride, twice. She was just 12 years old when she was first sold to an Afghan man. She was sold again when the sigheh expired, this time to a 55-year-old married man with two children. He forced her into prostitution, receiving as many as 15 clients at his home every night.<ref name=leyla>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/7107379.stm Iranian child victim of prostitution], BBC News</ref>

Arrested at 17, she was sentenced to death on charges of "running a brothel, acts contrary to chastity, prostitution, incest and giving birth to an illegitimate child" in 2004 when she was 18 years old. Several assessments found her to have the mental age of an eight-year-old child.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/kE8a6/leyla-forstaar-ikke-at-hun-skal-henrettes|title = Leyla forstår ikke at hun skal henrettes| date=18 December 2004 }}</ref> Amiry-Moghaddam persuaded [[Aftenposten]] to cover the case of Leyla.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/dwvdw/tilbakestaaende-jente-har-faatt-doedsdom-i-iran|title = Tilbakestående jente har fått dødsdom i Iran| date=16 December 2004 }}</ref>

Aftenposten's Per A Christiansen wrote an article about Leyla's case every day. The case received so much attention that after a week, Norway’s then Prime Minister [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] wrote a personal letter to then Iranian President Mohammad Khatemi and asked for Leyla’s death sentence to be revoked.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pettersson |first=Carin |date=2004-12-22 |title=PM asks Iranian president to spare Leyla's life |url=https://www.nettavisen.no/12-95-319063 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=Nettavisen |language=no}}</ref> The international pressure forced Leyla's death sentence to first be delayed<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/Rrzy2/iran-har-utsatt-henrettelsen-av-leyla-m|title=Iran har utsatt henrettelsen av Leyla M|date=12 January 2005 }}</ref> and she was later released after receiving 99 lashes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/6knA0/fri-etter-99-piskeslag|title = Fri etter 99 piskeslag| date=9 January 2006 }}</ref>

===Stoning and child death penalty cases===
Amiry-Moghaddam's activism has helped to create awareness of several death penalty cases in both the Norwegian and international media. He was particularly involved in stoning and child death penalty cases and contributed greatly to international reactions by bringing the cases to the media's attention. In one case, the stoning of a woman and a man was stopped after Amiry-Moghaddam brought the case to the media and wrote a letter to the then-Norwegian foreign minister [[Jonas Gahr Støre]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iraki |first=Rima |date=2007-06-20 |title=Støre: - Steining stanset |url=https://www.nrk.no/urix/store_---steining-stanset-1.2757658 |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=NRK |language=nb-NO}}</ref> The man who was later identified as Jafar Kiani was stoned two weeks later but the woman, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, was saved from stoning.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nettavisen.no/artikkel/steinet-likevel/s/12-95-1208329|title=- Steinet likevel|date=9 July 2007}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amiry-Moghaddam, Mahmood}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Oslo alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Oslo]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School people]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to Norway]]
[[Category:Iranian human rights activists]]
[[Category:Norwegian human rights activists]]
[[Category:Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]]
[[Category:People from Kerman]]
[[Category:Iranian democracy activists]]
[[Category:Iranian dissidents]]
[[Category:People from Kerman province]]
[[Category:Iranian anti–death penalty activists]]
[[Category:Norwegian neuroscientists]]

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:People from Kerman Province to :Category:People from Kerman province per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy