At this year’s opening of the Geneva Summit, Iran International’s journalist Pouria Zeraati issued a call to Western leaders, urging them to craft a new policy to back the Iranian people and confront the "terrorism stemming from the Islamic Republic of Iran."
“In this path, we all have a key role to play…so that the Iranian people’s great revolution, which began in September 2022, will become triumphant – and you, in the Western world, will no longer be threatened by a regime that is against basic human values,” Zeraati said.
Now in its 16th year, the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy is a leading annual event organized by a coalition of 25 NGOs. It convenes activists globally on the eve of the UN Human Rights Council's main session to bolster international awareness of human rights issues.
This year, Iran International was named the winner of the 2024 Geneva Summit Courage Award for "fearlessly” uncovering the daily “abuses of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Accepting the award alongside Zeraati on Wednesday, is Iran International’s executive editor, Aliasghar Ramezanpoor.
In his speech in Geneva on Tuesday, Ramezanpoor paid tribute to the “brave people of Iran” who he said “support Iran International’s work” by sharing their stories with the network.
“The truth comes from the people of Iran. It is in their voice. And the telling of it comes at great risk to their lives. I applaud their courage, which continues to inspire me and my colleagues in the work we do,” Ramezanpoor said.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Zeraati referenced the Iranian populaces’ persistent anti-regime sentiments.
“In the past two years, the people of Iran have made their demands explicitly clear on the Iranian streets. We need to hear their voices loud and clear,” he said.
Citing the Iranian people's contributions to the news outlet's coverage, often serving as citizen journalists, and documenting incidents to share them in the absence of an independent press in Iran, Ramezanpoor said that “their contribution during the Mahsa movement significantly enhanced our coverage of the unrest."
The Mahsa movement refers to the nationwide anti-regime protests that erupted in Iran after Mahsa Jina Amini died at the hands of the so-called morality police in 2022. In its crackdown on demonstrators, security forces killed at least 550 protesters, including dozens of children.
In that vein, Ramezanpoor and Zeraati emphasized the necessity of keeping international attention focused on the repression of protesters by authorities in Iran, the abuse of political prisoners, and the death penalty.
“Although often powerless to prevent such horrors, the need to talk truth to power has real meaning for people without power,” Ramezanpoor said.
The award is being given to Iran International almost 50 days after Zeraati was stabbed by unknown assailants, outside of his London home.
While British police stated it was premature to determine a motive for the crime, Zeraati's occupation, along with other threats to Iran International, prompted the involvement of the counterterrorism unit in investigating the attack.
“It was an attack on journalism. It was an attack on freedom of speech and an attack on our core liberal values in the West,” Zeraati stated. “This act of terror to silence and imitate us abroad gives a small glimpse of what the brave people of Iran face on an everyday basis.”
For many years, Iran International has faced threats from the Iranian government. Danger to the network’s employees escalated last year, with domestic security services unable to guarantee employee safety.
The network temporarily relocated its London offices to Washington, D.C.. Before the incident, Iran's intelligence minister had declared Iran International a terrorist organization, paving the way for all manner of actions against its journalists and broadcasters.
Ramezanpoor, who was convicted by the Iranian regime in absentia for “propaganda against the government,” stated at the summit: “I am happy to report that the ongoing attempts to stop us from broadcasting have not worked - we’re still on the air.”
Iranian media widely reported that Zibakalam, a former professor of political science at Tehran University, was arrested on Sunday by security forces while en route to the Tehran International Book Fair to unveil his new book, titled "Why Don’t They Arrest You and What Will Happen Afterwards?".
In a tweet after the news of Zibakalam’s arrest broke, Mehdi Keshtdar, managing director of the state’s judiciary news agency Mizan, denied the reports that he had been arrested on the street.
The judiciary insists that the 66-year-old academic was “summoned” to serve multiple sentences totaling three years for “propaganda against the state” as well as “spreading falsehood” on social media to affect the public’s opinion.
Zibakalam is known for speaking to foreign media on controversial matters.
His 18-month prison sentence for “propaganda against the state” by the Revolutionary Court in 2018 was for an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle which the court said was a "counter-revolutionary and hostile website."
In the interview, Zibakalam commented on the "disappointment of anti-government protesters with the entire regime apparatus" and said 70% of Iranians would say no to the Islamic Republic if there were a referendum to decide the type of government in Iran.
The title of his book alludes to allegations suggesting that, unlike other 'reformist' critics like former official Mostafa Tajzadeh, Zibakalam has been "immune" to arrest despite making controversial remarks over the past decade. These include his criticism of the country's nuclear policies and its anti-Israel rhetoric.
This immunity was believed to be due to Zibakalam never advocating for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
“Who says we should destroy Israel?” Zibakalam who openly voiced his recognition of the State of Israel asked in an interview with historian and filmmaker Hossein Dehbashi in 2014. “It’s no joke when you write ‘Israel must be destroyed’ on your missiles’,” he said.
Zibakalam refusing to step on American and Israeli flags in 2021
“Israel has never said it wants to destroy us ... Even Palestinians recognize Israel. We are more catholic than the pope,” Zibakalam, who is supportive of the right of the Palestinians to have their own state, said in a debate in 2015.
In April last year he said “annihilation of Israel and fighting America” were not among the goals of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and these slogans were often used by authorities to justify their failures.
In January, Zibakalam came under massive attacks from hardliners after he said Israel “does not kill innocent people” in an interview.
Many dissidents argue that not being arrested after such bold criticism is evidence that Zibakalam is “the regime’s safety valve” and his activities serve the authorities’ wish to show that freedom of expression exists in the Islamic Republic.
“Good! Zibakalam is NOT opposing the mullah regime in Iran but [is] in fact a willful propaganda stooge & proud Jew-hater. The regime parades him out in front of TV cameras often to claim they allow ‘criticism’ of their policies. He's a regime loyalist & a FRAUD!,” California-based Iran commentator Karmel Melamed tweeted after Zibakalam’s arrest.
Others, including some of his critics, have risen to his defense in principle.
"Now that he has fallen from grace, I have always been opposed to #SadeghZibakalam, from explicit criticisms in class to heated debates face-to-face at conferences, and later by denying and rejecting his positions and track record in public. But today, I definitely say that his arrest is unacceptable, and he should be released,” Tirdad Bonakdar, a member of the Central Committee of the banned National Front, founded by nationalist Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1949, wrote on X.
Recently, Zibakalam said in a tweet that the security outfit at Allameh Tabataba'i University had not allowed him to enter the campus to participate in a debate to which he was invited by the hardliner Students Basij militia.
Within a day of his arrest this weekend, Zibakalam’s book became unavailable on Tehran's Digikala online shop – an Iranian e-commerce company. It’s unclear whether the book sold out or if the retailer was instructed to remove it from its online platform.