Iranian of the Day

September 30 (RFE/RL) -- Two young broadcasters for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Farda -- Rosa Ajiri (right) and Amir Zamanifar -- have died in a car crash outside the Czech capital, Prague. Broadcaster Mahin Gorji remained in critical condition at a Prague hospital. RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari offers this look at the tragic loss of two much-loved colleagues.

Rosa Ajiri and Amir Zamanifar had short lives, but they lived them to the fullest.

Rosa was 27 years old, and Amir 29 when they died in an early morning automobile accident on September 29.

The preliminary investigation indicated that their car was stopped in the emergency lane of a highway north of Prague when it was struck from behind by a tractor trailer.

A journalist friend of Mahin Gorji -- who was herself gravely injured and remained in critical condition -- was suffering from shock after the tragedy.

Those who knew Rosa and Amir remember, first and foremost, their smiles and laughter.

Radio Farda colleague Hannah Kaviani said with the deaths of Rosa and Amir, Prague has lost two of its most beautiful smiles.

Rosa was cheerful and always eager to learn more and improve her journalistic skills. She used to tell her friends and relatives that one day she would become a well-known international reporter.

Rosa had been deeply affected by the crackdown in Iran following the presidential election in June. When the death in custody of student Amir Javadifar was made public, it was Rosa who secured an exclusive interview with a friend of Javadifar's who had seen his body and who charged that he had died as a result of torture.

Rosa once said that she couldn't stop crying after watching video images of the death of Neda Agha Soltan, the 27-year-old woman shot dead during a postelection protest in Tehran.

Amir was a respected moderator with a baritone voice. He was perhaps best-known among colleagues and listeners for his signature close to Radio Farda's evening-magazine program: "I wish you a peaceful night," he would say in his calm, steady voice.

Amir liked poetry, literature, photography, and Iranian food. He claimed that even pizzas made in Iran are the best in the world.

Like Rosa, Amir was struck hard by recent events in Iran.

One of the last reports he'd filed was based on interviews with relatives of journalists jailed in the crackdown, who are said to be under pressure >>>