Iran International journalist Negar Mojtahedi received the 2026 Bill Good Award at the 40th annual Webster Awards in Vancouver on Monday, in recognition of her reporting on war, state violence and human rights violations in Iran, often at great risk to her personal safety.
Mojtahedi, a British Columbia-based investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker and host of Iran International’s Eye for Iran podcast, received the honor during the November 2 ceremony celebrating excellence in journalism across western Canada.
Accepting the award, Mojtahedi dedicated it to the people of Iran, particularly those who have lost their lives demanding freedom, and highlighted the dangers journalists face under the Islamic Republic.
"Journalism is my profession. It's what I've dedicated my life to," she said. "But while journalism is a profession here in Canada, in Iran, it is an extraordinary act of courage. One that can cost you your life."
She recalled the death of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in 2003 after being arrested for photographing Tehran's Evin Prison, and the imprisonment of two Iranian female journalists who helped expose the death in custody of Mahsa “Jina” Amini in 2022.
Mojtahedi also addressed the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests in January 2026, describing the mass killings on January 8 and 9 and the communications blackout imposed by the authorities.
"On January 8 and 9, the Islamic Republic massacred its own people," she said. "Tens of thousands were killed in just two days. The full scale of the massacre is still being uncovered."
She cited former United Nations war crimes prosecutor Payam Akhavan, who described the killings as "extermination," and accused Iranian authorities of attempting to conceal the violence by cutting internet and telephone connections.
"I am incredibly fortunate to work at Iran International, where we have the freedom, the platform and the responsibility to expose these atrocities, even when the regime is doing everything it can to bury the truth," she said.
Mojtahedi also drew attention to executions and death sentences handed down to protesters, as well as the case of Hesam Alaeddin, a 40-year-old father of two who she said died after being beaten by security agents in a case connected to the possession of Starlink satellite internet equipment.
Reflecting on her own family's experiences, she said growing up hearing about executions in Iran had shaped her understanding of journalism and the responsibility that comes with it.
"Even today, when I see a construction crane here in Canada, my heart sinks. Because I think of Iran. I think of the people who have been hanged from cranes," she said.
"I dedicate it to the people of Iran, especially those who have paid the ultimate price for demanding truth and freedom."
She concluded with a message to fellow journalists: "Our freedom to report means very little if we don't use it to give a voice to those who have been silenced."
Dedication to journalism
The Jack Webster Foundation praised Mojtahedi's work documenting war, state violence and human rights abuses, highlighting her efforts to increase international understanding of Iran.
"Reporting on war, state violence and human rights violations, often at great risk to her personal safety, Negar has helped bridge the gulf between the West and Iran and increased cultural understanding," the foundation said.
It also recognized her contribution as a first-generation immigrant journalist, saying her reporting challenges negative stereotypes and encourages more equitable representation of underrepresented communities in the media.
Effie Klein, a journalism instructor, praised Mojtahedi's dedication and courage, saying she had earned recognition typically associated with journalists who have spent decades in the profession.
"She believes in what she does. She loves what she does, and even if it comes with consequences, she knows that she needs to tell the truth," Klein said. "I think that is very brave, and I think that's why she deserves this award."
Doug Sydora of Global BC recalled Mojtahedi's early enthusiasm and determination in the newsroom.
"She came in like a force," he said, describing her as possessing "an unbelievable, unbridled curiosity and passion."
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Iran International's head of digital, also praised her commitment to reporting.
"She's genuinely passionate about the stories that she covers, and add to that her energy, that is unstoppable in a way," Sharafedin said. "I think a combination of these makes Negar a unique reporter."
Excellence in journalism
The Bill Good Award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to journalism in British Columbia or benefited communities through their reporting.
Named in honor of veteran Canadian broadcaster Bill Good, whose career spanned five decades, the award is among three special honors presented by the Jack Webster Foundation.
Mojtahedi previously received the 2025 Freedom of the Media Award from the Washington-based Transatlantic Leadership Network for excellence in international reporting.
The November 2 ceremony also honored journalist Tom Zytaruk with the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award and Anne Penman with the Shelley Fralic Award.
The annual Webster Awards marked their 40th anniversary this year, with recently retired CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer appearing as the featured guest.
Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were hanged in connection with January protests in Isfahan, Iranian authorities said on Tuesday.
Mizan, the judiciary-linked news agency, alleged that the protesters had been armed and that the Supreme Court had upheld their death sentences.
The men are among 12 defendants sentenced to death in the Alikhani Square case. The case stems from protests in Isfahan on January 8, during which Iranian authorities accused defendants of involvement in the deaths of four security personnel, weapons offenses, destruction of property and arson.
Seven other defendants in the case, including two Afghan nationals, have been executed since July 19, Iran Human Rights said. Among them were Alireza Raisi and Alireza Sepahi, who were put to death on October 5.
UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato highlighted the case during an October 28 address to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee as an example of Iran’s mass trials of protesters.
Shahrzad Shahbazi, a lawyer representing defendants in the case, has previously disputed the official account, saying none had formally been charged with murder and the alleged killings had not been tried.
Iranian authorities have long used broadly worded charges such as espionage, acting against national security, armed rebellion, enmity against God and corruption on earth to crush dissent and remove political opponents.
Human rights organizations say these labels are routinely applied to protesters, dissidents and political prisoners to portray them as security threats and provide a legal pretext for execution.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN experts have documented repeated cases in which such convictions were issued by revolutionary courts after grossly unfair or highly expedited proceedings, with defendants denied meaningful access to lawyers and verdicts based on torture-tainted forced confessions.
Rights groups therefore describe many executions carried out under these charges as arbitrary and politically motivated, warning that the authorities’ allegations should not be treated as independently established facts.
Several employees at subsidiaries of Bank Pasargad, one of Iran's largest private banks, have been fired or barred from their workplaces amid tighter enforcement of the country's mandatory hijab laws, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Bank Pasargad CEO Majid Ghasemi dismissed six employees during an unannounced visit to one of the bank's subsidiaries on October 27 over their clothing, sources told Iran International.
During another visit the following day, several female employees were dismissed for wearing jackets and skirts, casual clothing or trainers, while a male employee was fired for wearing jeans, according to one of the sources.
Another person working at a company under Fanap Holding, a technology group linked to Bank Pasargad, said a company executive was forced to resign after refusing instructions to impose stricter dress code restrictions.
Employees at several companies, including Fanap, Fanap Infrastructure, Fanap Telecom, Dotin and Pasargad Electronic Payment, received notices warning that entry to workplaces from October 31 would be conditional on compliance with new clothing requirements.
The notices banned women from wearing headscarves, short or open-front manteaus, women's trouser suits and T-shirts. Some employees were subsequently denied entry over their clothing, the sources said.
One source said two or three colleagues were among those dismissed but were reluctant to speak publicly for fear of losing their severance payments and final employment settlements.
The reported dismissals come amid renewed pressure on Iranian businesses to enforce compulsory hijab rules, which require women to cover their hair and observe Islamic dress standards in public.
On October 30, Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi warned that managers of government agencies could face legal action for failing to enforce hijab regulations, according to the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency. He also called for increased monitoring of businesses, clothing retailers and public venues.
Iranian authorities have increasingly targeted businesses over alleged dress code violations. In August, Iran International documented at least 42 closures of cafes, restaurants, shops, sports clubs and other establishments across 17 cities in just three weeks.
More recently, Tehran prosecutors opened a case against organizers of the Tehran Art Fair over alleged violations of the country’s hijab laws, while the event's ticketing website and social media account were blocked.
Iran's compulsory hijab requirements have remained a point of contention since the 2022 protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, with growing numbers of women appearing in public without headscarves despite the threat of penalties.
Three young men sentenced to death in connection with Iran's January protests face imminent execution after their families were summoned for final visits on Monday, according to human rights activists.
The Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights said the families of Amirhossein Maleki and Abolfazl Ebrahimi had been summoned to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, warning that the two could be executed within hours or days.
Exiled political activist Ebrahim Allahbakhshi separately reported that Amirhossein Ebrahimi Analoujeh had also met his family for a final visit. Citing sources familiar with the cases, he said all three men had completed their final visits and were scheduled to be executed on Tuesday.
Iran Human Rights said the death sentences followed proceedings marked by torture, forced confessions and gross violations of due process.
The men are among 12 defendants sentenced to death in the Alikhani Square case. The case stems from protests in Isfahan on January 8, during which Iranian authorities accused defendants of involvement in the deaths of four security personnel, weapons offenses, destruction of property and arson.
Shahrzad Shahbazi, a lawyer representing defendants in the case, has disputed the official account, saying none had formally been charged with murder and the alleged killings had not been tried.
Seven defendants in the case, including two Afghan nationals, have been executed since July 19, Iran Human Rights said. Among them were Alireza Raisi and Alireza Sepahi, who were put to death on October 5.
The group said the Supreme Court had also rejected appeals by Analoujeh and two other defendants facing execution, Shervin Bagherian and Ali Dashti. It identified Bagherian as 17 at the time of his arrest and said lawyers defending the accused had themselves faced prosecution or imprisonment.
Torture allegations and unfair trials
UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato highlighted the case during an October 28 address to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee as an example of Iran’s mass trials of protesters.
Sato said 12 defendants had been sentenced to death and seven already executed. She warned that the proceedings failed to establish individual criminal responsibility, rendering the resulting death sentences arbitrary.
Amnesty International previously identified all three men among defendants facing execution, warning in July that they had been sentenced to death following a grossly unfair mass trial.
The organization documented allegations that Bagherian was forcibly disappeared for 21 days, beaten and denied access to a lawyer during the investigation. His forced confession was broadcast on state television before his trial, Amnesty said.
In an October statement, Amnesty said Sepahi had been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, beatings and electric shocks.
Erfan Nabian told Iran International that he was tortured and subjected to a mock execution while being interrogated about allegations linked to the case. The former political prisoner was held alongside several of its defendants.
Iran Human Rights urged governments maintaining diplomatic relations with Tehran to act immediately to halt the executions.
Students across Iran have described tighter surveillance, restrictions on gatherings and pressure to participate in military and ideological activities, with some facing threats of expulsion or police referral, according to accounts received by Iran International.
The messages from schools in several cities describe compulsory displays of images of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, increased classroom monitoring, enforcement of mandatory hijab rules and the presence of Basij forces.
Students at a school in Dezful were ordered to pose for photographs with two banners depicting Ali Khamenei, Iran's slain former ruler, and warned they could be expelled or referred to police if they refused, a student told Iran International.
In Marvdasht, education department officials visited a school on November 1 to inspect compliance with mandatory hijab rules, according to another student.
Students who failed to observe the dress code would be expelled, the school's principal warned, the student said.
A student in Tehran also described compulsory Quran recitations, saying school authorities had warned that those who refused would receive failing grades in core subjects.
Other accounts described the presence of Basij forces and plans for military exercises on school grounds.
Students at a school in Alborz province were informed that a missile launcher would be brought into the schoolyard and armed forces personnel would conduct a military drill, one student said.
In Lorestan province, students at a school for gifted children were taken to apro-establishment rally on October 28 without their parents being informed in advance, according to a family.
Iran International earlier reported that students in six provinces had faced pressure to participate in Jan-Fada (Self-Sacrifice), a system-backed initiative involving military training and mobilization activities. Some students were warned of expulsion or consequences for their parents if they refused to take part.
Basij members visiting another school instructed students to stay out of politics, according to a student who described the exchange.
"How can we stay out of politics when we have lost more than 40,000 brothers and sisters?" the student said in response.
Another citizen described seeing a group of students on the streets wearing camouflage uniforms and military-style scarves and carrying batons.
Military equipment and activities in schools have featured in earlier accounts received by Iran International.
Based on earlier reports, students at some schools had been given identification tags or instructed to obtain and wear them.
Other accounts described armed personnel and military vehicles entering schools and children receiving weapons training.
The Education Ministry's spokesperson denied reports of military identification tags being issued to students on October 23, saying school principals were not permitted to announce measures that could cause concern among families.
Surveillance cameras in classrooms at a public high school in Tehran's District 19 doubled on October 28, according to a student.
Previously, a single camera had been installed at the front of each classroom facing students. Another camera has since been added behind them, the student said.
In Gonbad-e Kavus, northern Iran, school officials prohibited students from gathering in groups of more than two, according to another account.
The restrictions follow similar measures documented in an earlier report, when students from several cities described classroom cameras, audio recording, searches of personal belongings and clothing inspections.
Another student described armed officers accompanying a school excursion to a park and repeatedly instructing high school girls to comply with hijab requirements and wear their headscarves properly.
A University of Tehran doctoral student reportedly attempted self-immolation outside a university building after repeated disciplinary summonses and security pressure, the student-run Tehran-Daneshjoo channel said Sunday.
The channel identified him as Shahin Shokouhi, a sociology PhD candidate, and said the incident occurred around midday outside the Foolad building on 16 Azar Street. He was taken for medical treatment, but his condition remained unknown.
The account said Shokouhi had been repeatedly summoned before university disciplinary authorities and pressured by security agencies outside the campus.
The channel said he continued to face questioning and security pressure despite his injuries, and expressed concern that he could be detained or face legal proceedings before completing treatment.
Shokouhi had previously been detained during protests at the university on December 30, 2025. According to Scholars at Risk, he and four other students arrested that day were all released later the same day.
A growing record of pressure on students
The Foolad building had already appeared in student accounts of security pressure. In October, Tehran-Daneshjoo reported increased summonses to university security offices there, on 16 Azar Street.
Some students described threats and humiliation during questioning. The channel said Intelligence Ministry personnel attended certain meetings and confronted students with information about their private lives.
The pressure extends beyond summonses. In May, University of Tehran polymer engineering student Amir Mohammad Karimi received a two-semester suspension after a disciplinary hearing conducted in his absence while he was detained, according to Scholars at Risk.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran reported that seven students at Sharif University of Technology faced preliminary expulsion orders in June over social media activity and cases linked to the nation-wide January protests. Three students at Tehran's Khajeh Nasir University of Technology had two-semester suspensions upheld in July.
In February, Tehran-Daneshjoo, citing the newspaper Shargh, reported that at least 180 students at universities in Tehran had received disciplinary summonses by text message, while more than 60 others had been barred from campus through telephone notifications.
An April gathering in Mashhad offers another example. Security agents detained students who had met with a former teacher, according to the Middle East Studies Association. Four faced national security charges, including University of Tehran literature student Mohammad Parsa Golchin.
An earlier tragedy in Ahvaz
In November 2025, Ahmad Baledi, a 20-year-old in Ahvaz, died after setting himself on fire during a confrontation over the demolition of his family's food kiosk. President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation, and local officials faced disciplinary and legal action.
His death recalled the Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi whose self-immolation in December 2010 preceded mass demonstrations that forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power.
Shokouhi’s condition remained unknown as of Sunday. Tehran-Daneshjoo said it had received no update from university authorities.
