'There is no jail that can imprison the free word, nor is there a siege tight enough that can prevent the spread of information.' MAZEN DARWISH, Syrian human rights activist, in a speech given on 23 April 2016, following his release from jail in 2015.

Delphine Minoui, a recipient of the Albert Londres Prize for her reporting on Iraq and Iran, is a Middle East correspondent for Le Figaro. Born in Paris in 1974 to a French mother and an Iranian father, she now lives in Istanbul. She is the author of I'm Writing You from Tehran and The Book Collectors of Daraya.