Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

Amir Abbas Fakhravar, a prominent political dissident, is a leader of Iran’s underground opposition. A former medical student, law student, journalist, and writer, Fakhravar was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on defamation charges in November 2002 because of comments about Iran's political leaders in his book, Inja Chah Nist (This Place is Not a Ditch). After three years of imprisonment that included torture, Fakhravar was able to escape while on a two day temporary leave to take his law degree exams. He became a fugitive, fled from Iran in April 2006 and arrived in the U.S. in May, where he has spoken out on the plight of the Iranian people.