Babak Dad, Iran's outlaw blogger on the run

Babak Dad is an Iranian journalist and blogger who keeps an online journal in Farsi at his blog on Blogspot. He’s been blogging from inside Iran and eluding (at least as of last we knew) authorities for some time now. Whether you know Farsi or not, what you should know is that the news he presents is of great interest to Iranians both inside the country and living abroad. Do consider linking to his blog to help raise its profile and help others find it. What we present here is a translation of his “about” text which can be found in Farsi on his blog and in multiple languages in a Facebook group set up by some of his readership.

Babak Dad is an Iranian journalist and blogger. Let us read his story through his own words:

By Babak Dad:

“Why am I in Iran? After the June 12th election, as soon as I knew I was to be arrested, I left home in hiding to set foot on a forced journey. I preferred to write and impact my audiences than to go to prison and together with my family, we decided that if my writings were of any impact, it would be wiser to escape from home and to write in these crucial times.

Despite the losses we have suffered including my son’s education, what I have paid for democracy is way too small when you think of Neda, Sohrab and tens of other martyrs who lost their lives for the green movement. You may read an account of our forced immigration in my post “a log on waves”. This is to remind us all that without sacrifices, freedom will not be achieved. We should all pay our shares and contribute to this movement and bring justice to our people.”

Babak has had to suffer a lot in his decision to abandon home; his son who was preparing for university missed the entrance exams, he himself could not attend the funeral of his brother, Seifollah Dad; it is two months now that he is homeless and will face serious family problems with the opening of school year in September. The aim of the Facebook group is to unify Iranian (and international) voices and reflect his situation both within Iran and internationally and to seek help for him and his family. This is not an opposition group and regardless of Babak Dad’s views, seeks to protect freedom of speech.

Please invite your friends to join this group on Facebook, and support Babak Dad. Visit blog at: babakdad.blogspot.com. Use Google Translate to get a rough idea of what it’s saying if you don’t know Farsi, but there is yet to be an automated translation service that really does the language justice.