Prisoner of Tehran

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to torture, political repression, and emotional trauma.

Marina Nemat is the author and protagonist of Prisoner of Tehran, a memoir that recounts her harrowing experiences as a political prisoner in Iran during the early 1980s. Born in 1965 in Tehran, Nemat grew up in a Christian family during a time of great political upheaval. Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, she became politically active and outspoken against the new regime’s human rights abuses. At 16, she was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for her political activism, but her execution was halted, and she was forced to marry one of her interrogators, which added a deeply personal and traumatic dimension to her ordeal.

After her release from prison, Nemat eventually escaped to Canada, where she has lived since the early 1990s. In Canada, she became a voice for those who suffered similar fates but did not survive to tell their stories. Since her imprisonment, Nemat has dedicated her life to human rights advocacy, writing, and education. Nemat’s experiences have driven her to speak out against tyranny and to advocate for justice and human rights globally.