this is t w news coming to you live from berlin facing prison for daring to speak out they really an academic subject to become law is the winner of this year's d.w. freedom of speech award he's been ordered to jail for criticizing your friend's government during protests in twenty seventeen also coming up the lives shattered in the battle against islamic state months after the group's defacto capital rocko was liberated a special report on life in the legacy of war in the ruins. also coming up this

year's champions league final will see real madrid face liverpool and despite a four to defeat in rome on wednesday liverpool fans were jumping for joy is the reds win on and reach their first bottle since two thousand and seven. below i'm terry martin good to have you with us we start out with a man who has chosen to speak out rather than stay silent risking his freedom to do so. is the winner of this year's d.w. freedom of speech award super columb criticized the iranian government over protests there in two thousand and seventeen we'll hear from him in just a moment but first a look at his challenge to those in power. at the end of december twenty seventeen iran's though its biggest anti-government demonstrations in almost

a decade the protests quickly spread to dozens of cities and towns across the country. just days after the unrest to rep did so dexie back alam gave an interview to d.w. far as the he characterized the demonstrators as young people disappointed with the entire political system. and said more than two thirds of people are dissatisfied with the islamic republic those views didn't go down well with the arraign ian or thorazine they accuse the back alarm are spreading false information and propaganda against the islamic republic. he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison and barred from social media for two years she is appealing the decision. what she learned punish someone has expressed an opinion would she's not compact the girl which is stuck in line which is not in all of the answers because

it got well meant open ian chillag quanties should i go eighteen months into prison . it's not the first time the academic has received a jail sentence for speaking his mind. he's become a well known figure in iran for challenging the government narrative on many sensitive issues from the country's nuclear program to foreign policy and he has a large audience online on telegram which was banned by the iranian authorities this week he has almost one hundred pals and followers. on instagram almost seven hundred pages and. has vowed to keep on expressing his opinions despite the official threats against him. i hope for for iran is genuine i really i sincerely hope it's not a daydream it is just thinking because i believe that it more prosy will

eventually prevail in iran. and it's our great pleasure now to be able to speak with saddam he joins us by a skype from cameron shah in iran sadat first of all congratulations you're appealing your sentence i understand but you could be facing eighteen years eighteen months in jail what's the current status of your case. this is a game very well i am going to say on there. that he is. right and i think we i think it may be that i get it beat that there are many men and women. who will he said much more than i do you can see.

one of each. as i said they get it he said math wars. because they have suffered far more than i suffered because of the governor's speech but anyway as you mentioned. at the moment i have to see eighteen months a sentence in my six trial which has evolved two months ago and also two he had a bad song. such as the one that i. know i'll write i think lucky. i'm happy in the social media yes this is a seven spot that's on bottom as being in a sentence but then strike that evolutionary. back again not getting it in social media for two years i feel against the sentence.

they're facing for their for the second quarter because we need any any any and that i'm hoping that that that the court crush that sense of things. won't free but we hope so too now you were taken to court because of an interview you gave with w.'s farsi service among others you've done many interviews with foreign media why do you think that particular one was singled out. because it was then you match in contrast to what it is going to be there is any and on do with the government press and they will search and they maintain that overall rest and open a free should. he send it organize why he is. all are you not to say. it's right that's etc and you do think it if

you like i said. it's not an office it will what it all meant and made any not if that wasn't what he thought and probably it was it was just their. defeat eating and oh yes this all you don't hear. so nic thank you so much for talking with us and congratulations again on winning this year's freedom prize of press freedom prize a specific super column he joined us from kermanshah in iran by a skype thank you again now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today a powerful dust storm has left more than seventy people dead in northern india extreme winds and rains brought down trees and destroyed temporary structures throughout the region causing many of the deaths officials say the toll could rise

. police in southern germany have been conducting a large scale raid on an asylum seekers hostel they're trying to arrest a totally smashed and who is wanted for deportation they were prevented from detaining the man two days ago after being threatened by other asylum seekers at the hospital. and former new york mayor rudy giuliani says donald trump repaid one hundred thirty thousand dollars spent by trump's lawyer to buy a porn star silence over an alleged affair with the us president giuliani recently joined trump's legal team his statement apparently contradicts trump's insistence that he was unaware of the payment to stormy daniels. officials in the u.s. say at least nine people have been killed after a military cargo plane crashed near an airport in the southern state of georgia c one thirty aircraft was on a training mission carrying national guard members from perth rico it's not yet known what caused the crash. it's been more than seven months now since the

syrian city of raka was liberated from so-called islamic state the militants had captured rock on two thousand and thirteen and made it their defacto capital but last october a coalition of kurdish an arab fighters backed by u.s. special forces that i asked after a four month siege the liberation of rocca marked a turning point in the war against islamic state today only a few patches of land in syria are still under the group's control they no longer rule an extensive territory but rocca remains in ruins we have this report from the former honest capital. was once the capital city of the so-called islamic state. now it's a wasteland. seventy percent of the buildings are in ruins all severely damaged despite that the united nations says one hundred thousand people have returned to live in the city. this resident fled the fighting she's lost everything she had.

all the money but i don't know what happened when i came back everything i owned was burnt there's nothing left it. was subject to the full force of the so-called islamic state which ruled an area the size of britain from the city. you know the islamist fighters were ousted afternoon tense aerial bombing campaign by an international coalition and a ground assault by kurdish and out of militias and now there's the constant danger of booby traps there are signs to warn the residents but the un ses as many as one hundred twenty people a month are killed by the bombs most of the victims are women and children there's no international help in clearing the threat and everywhere reminders of islamic state rule locals say the islamists use this church as a court and as a base for the religious police.

on tiffin of money at this place is full of forms but there are also police charge sheets and written court judgments. in theory these documents shouldn't be here western and kurdish intelligence agencies claim they seized all the evidence they could to find out who joined us like this report here. a member of the religious police called abu abdullah call to man with eight packets of cigarettes another man was arrested for using evil woods it's unclear what happened to the i.a.s. and forces in the people they targeted and then this square in central iraq the ultimate symbol of islamic state power and the place of execution abu ahmed said he staged joining i-s. rule. this squares called nine square paradise square but everyone called it the square of hell. yes people were always here. they hung around in restaurants or computers or they went to the internet. you know. and over there they stuck heads

on spikes and crucified people. the world watched as rock a fell now half year later the city seems forgotten there's no running water and the electricity supply is ready on but there are places of hope i had people in this stadium now people are playing soccer here again and there's music being played deafening loud. everyone can hear it after it was banned for so long i speaking of soccer here in europe we've got some champions league football to talk about liverpool have punch their ticket for the final in kiev later this month the reds carried a healthy five two lead into the second leg against italian club roma and for many this time it was a foregone conclusion but as we have seen so many times with liverpool this season

excitement is always guaranteed. a ferocious atmosphere greeted liverpool at the study olympic but the mood was dampened nine minutes in the school the open a for the visit as an own goal by james milner briefly restored hope and in the twenty ninth minute giorgio why now them restored the lead to want to liverpool at half time. roma still had fight left in them as ed injector leveled the schools before roger nine galon put away a long range strike and in the ninety fourth minute scored a penalty but it was too little too late. in the night but seven six to liverpool on aggregate a record in the champions league semifinal stage you can clock felt his side was somewhat lucky so it was the first time that people are not really. we can be so we need luck and. that's what we had but i think over the whole campaign so far it's absolutely deserve to would have been said before to give it

would have been easier for. relief for liverpool fans in rome who saw their side reach the champions league final for the first time since two thousand and seven record holders real madrid await. and just reminder of the top story we're following for you here today on the news reigning in academic subjects is the winner of this year's d.w. freedom of speech award he was ordered to jail for criticizing iran's government during protests in twenty seventeen. and don't forget you can always get the w. news on the go just out from google play from the apple store that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notification it's for any breaking news can also use the v.w. to send us photos and videos. you are watching t.v.

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