Sunday, October 10, 2010

The case of Liu Xiaobo vs. the case of Hossein Derakshan

It was a courageous act that the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee was ready to jeopardize their country's relations with China by standing up for and honouring Liu Xiaobo. I noted with satisfaction that the Canadian government issued a statement way back in December 2005 deploring Liu Xiaobo's 11 year prison sentence, in spite of the fact that Mr Liu is not a Canadian citizen. But it saddens me to compare his case with that of Hossein Derakshan, who IS a Canadian citizen, and who was recently sentenced to 19.5 years in Iran. His crime? He was blogging, in Canada, posting critical writings about the present Iranian leadership.

Both are dissidents, both expressed critical opinions on matters of human rights. Surely Liu Xiaobo's political activities are of a heavier weight, culminating in this year's Nobel Peace Prize, while Hossein Derakshan only contributed to freedom of expression for Iranians by being instrumental in developing the use of Persian script on the internet, as well as then using this tool to voice his own opinions later. Liu Xiaobo's 11 year sentence elicited an immediate reaction from the Canadian government, yet seemingly not much reaction came from them when the news of Hossein Derakshan's possible death sentence, which later was downgraded to a 19.5 years(!) prison sentence, hit the news stands.

Wouldn't he deserve at least an official notice, not to speak maybe help from his own government?