Roozbeh Farahanipour
Roozbeh Farahanipour (Persian:; born July 16, 1971 in Tehran, Iran) is former student activist and a leader in the movement for an Iranian cultural renaissance and the chairman of the Marz-e Por Gohar ("Glorious Frontiers") resistance movement, which advocates the overthrow of Iran's Islamic government and its replacement with a secular Iranian Republic. After being imprisoned and tortured for his key role in the uprising of July 1999, Farahanipour went into exile in the United States where he received political asylum. Biography. Farahanipour was a law student of at the University of Azad Tehran branch until  1993, when he was expelled on political grounds and banned from further education. In 1994 he founded a journal dedicated to Iranian Studies with an emphasis on Zoroastrianism entitled "Vohuman". On July 8, 1998, together with his nationalist peers, some of whom had been involved with the Iranian Studies circle of "Vohuman", Farahanipour organized the "Hezbé Marzé Por Gohar "("Glorious Frontiers Party") named after the patriotic song suppressed by the Islamic regime. The Ministry of Intelligence declared Marzé Por Gohar an illegal party and denounced Farahanipour as a leader of the unrest. On July 14, 1999 his house was raided  by armed Islamic militias. He was arrested together with twelve comrades and two Afghan house guests. During the course of 36 days in solitary confinement in the worst of the Islamic regime's prisons, the Towhid installation, Farahnipour was repeatedly tortured and interrogated by the Ministry of Intelligence and the revolutionary court. His personal testimony of torture was included in the United Nations' Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights. He was eventually released on 50,000,000 Rials bail, which was paid with the deed to a compatriot's house . Life in the United States. In view of the extremely long prison sentences being received by other activists and the potential of execution, rather than waiting for the court to decide his fate Farahanipour chose to continue his struggle from abroad. He escaped Iran and sought political asylum in the United States. Now based in the Iranian expatriate community of Los Angeles, often referred to as Tehrangeles or Irangeles, Farahanipour continues his activism. He has owned Delphi Greek since 2009, and serves as a member of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.