Marina Nemat was thirteen when the Islamic Revolution took hold of Iran and sixteen when, along with hundreds and thousands of other teenagers, she was arrested and thrown into the infamous Evin prison. No photos exist, and many victims did not live through their experience -- all that remains, Nemat says, are the testimonies of witnesses. The value of their words is immeasurable, as they are the best weapon against the trials and tribulations of the people of Iran, which still continue after 30 years.

About

Marina Nemat is an Iranian author and former prisoner of conscience. A young civic activist, she was imprisoned at the age of 16 for criticizing Ayatollah Khomeini's brutal regime. During her incarceration for two years in the infamous Evin Prison, she was tortured and faced execution, but was rescued by a prison guard. Her reprieve came at a heavy price, however: the guard guaranteed her safety, and that of her friends and family, if she converted to Islam and married him. Nemat did so and has been courageously outspoken about her experiences in the forced marriage, including the subsequent sexual abuse she suffered. After her husband died, she remarried and fled to Canada with her new husband in 1991. Prisoner of Tehran, her memoir, was published in 2007 and became an international bestseller. Nemat is the recipient of the European Parliament’s inaugural Human Dignity Prize.