Mortaza Behboudi Releases Book on Iran Protests

International journalist and PICT contributor Mortaza Behboudi will release his first book, Femme, Vie, Liberté : Un reporter infiltré au cœur de la révolte iranienne, on 6 February 2025. The book recounts the 2022-2023 Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, during which Mortaza was the only European journalist to cover the events from within the country. Published by Editions du Rocher, the book will be celebrated with a launch party at Point Ephémère in Paris on the day of its release.

The death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, following her arrest by the Iranian Guidance Patrol for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly, ignited a wave of protests across the country that has been described as the most widespread revolt in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In this book, co-written with Journalist Marine Courtade, Mortaza offes a close-up view of this stunning social upheaval as well as of the young generations, mostly under thirty years of age, that risked imprisonment, torture, and death as they rallied around the motto of “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Mortaza is a journalist and filmmaker whose work mainly focuses on mass migration and refugee issues. His past work been awarded the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents (twice) and the French National Daily Varenne Prize. His 2024 film, Nous, jeunesse(s) d’Iran, was a finalist for the Albert Londres Prize. He is most widely known for his work on Afghanistan, where he was a Taliban prisoner for nine months in 2023, and on the Moria Refugee Camp on Lesbos, Greece, from which he was the only journalist to report during the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020.

Mortaza is currently working on a book recounting his continued coverage of refugee life on Lesbos. The book, his first in the English language, will appear from PICT Books.

The launch party for Femme, Vie, Liberté will feature presentations by Mortaza and Marine Courtade, a Q&A-session, and a book signing. The event is free and open to the public; details below!

Date & Time:

Thursday, 6 February 2025, 19:00

Location:

Point Ephémère, 200 Quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris, France