Renowned Iranian dissident and investigative journalist Akbar Ganji is on a month long world tour to raise awareness of human rights violations in Iran. In April 2000 Akbar was arrested after he took part in a conference on political reform in Iran. He was released six years later - in March of this year. Since his arrival in the U.S, Akbar has been speaking out against human rights abuses in Iran. He took part in a three-day hunger strike outside of the UN aimed at forcing the Iranian government to release political prisoners. Akbar has also carried an anti-war message and has spoken out against the Bush administration. Last week, he declined a personal invitation to the White House to meet with top U.S officials overseeing Iran policy. He rejected the offer - he says - because he believed that current US policies could not help promote democracy in Iran. Akbar Ganji joins us now in the studio. Hossein Kamaly also joins us to help with translation.

* Akbar Ganji-Iranian dissident and investigative journalist, (translated by Hossein Kamaly)

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