HRF Honors Iranian Women’s Leader, TV’s ‘Criminal Minds’ and Retired Military Leaders at Annual Awards Dinner

Human Rights First brought together Iranian human rights advocates, retired U.S. generals and admirals, celebrities, and philanthropists for its 2007 Human Rights Award Dinner, recognizing extraordinary work in the past year to end human rights violations around the world. Dinner host Meredith Vieira of NBC’s “Today” show and HRF board member Sigourney Weaver were among the 1,000 people at the annual gathering, held at New York’s Chelsea Piers.

Iranian women’s leader Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, one of the founders of the One Million Signatures Campaign for women’s rights, received the 2007 Human Rights Award for dedicating her life to challenging laws that discriminate against Iranian women, including the lack of legal recourse for victims of violence.

Sam Waterston of “Law and Order” presented the Award for Excellence in Television to the CBS program “Criminal Minds” for its realistic depictions of torture and interrogation.

The retired generals and admirals, including speakers Gen. Joseph Hoar and Rear Adm. John Hutson, were recognized for their leadership in bringing prisoner treatment back into line with the Geneva Conventions and ensuring that torture is never again a part of U.S. policy. In April 2007, they began meeting individually with presidential candidates to discuss the need for policies that honor the values American servicemembers fight to protect.