Fereydoun Sahebjam

Life

Fereydoun Sahebjam ( 1933 - 2008 ) was a writer, novelist and journalist Franco-Iranian born in Nice, France, on 4 February 1933. Iranian nationality derived from two Iranian parents living in France. It is the family of his mother who originally lived in Nice, while his father lived in Geneva, Switzerland. His maternal grandfather was Eshagh Mofakham, who was the ambassador of Persia to the Court of Tsar Nicolas II and many other nations until 1917.

Irandohkt Mofakham (Fereydoun's mother) married Hossein Sahebjam (who died three years after the birth of his son, in 1936). After spending his childhood in France and completing his studies at boarding school, Fereydoun went to Iran at the age of eighteen to do his military service for a period of two years. He remained there till 1950. He married Shahnaz Khadjeh-Nouri and their daughter, Safinaz, was born in 1956. He later married Claude Bunaudière and they had three daughters, Caroline, Michelle and Cecilia.

Fereydoun and his Mother

Career

He began his career as a sports journalist in Iran. In the late 1950s he returned to France and enrolled at the "Institut d'études Politiques de Paris". He continued his career in journalism with magazines such as Viewpoints and Images of the World . It was in May 1979 that, as a political journalist, he denounced the barbarity of the Islamic regime in Iran. He was immediately sentenced to death by the regime, calling him a "traitor" for his remarks in Le Monde or Le Figaro. After his conviction he continued to denounce the practices in Iran through newspaper articles and true stories.

In 1983 he published his first book about the Islamic Revolution, under the pseudonym Fred St. James, entitled "In The Name of God, the Merciful and Mis'cordieux". It is a collection of testimonies from people who lived through the Revolution. "I have More Tears to Cry", released in 1985, refers to young boys who are indoctrinated early in the war in favour of the Plan.

In 1990 he published the novel "The Stoning of Soraya M." (the true story of the last hours of the life of Soraya M, who was sentenced to be stoned to death, after she was falsely accused of adultery). This book led to him being internationally recognised and was translated into many languages. The novel was then produced in to film by the same name directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh in 2008 . Fereydoun published thousands of articles and thirteen books during his lifetime. He died at the age of 75 in March 2008 at his home in "Neuilly-sur-Seine".