Geneva Summit

Listen as Marzieh Hamidi, recipient of the International Women’s Rights Award at , rejects efforts to normalize the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan:

“They are terrorists today, and they will remain terrorists tomorrow. I know this not as theory, but as lived reality.”

Her message: Don’t be fooled by the Taliban’s propaganda. Listen to the women who suffer at their hands.

Watch as French comedian Sophia Aram presents the International Women’s Rights Award to Marzieh Hamidi at .

Sophia highlighted Marzieh’s determination as a taekwondo athlete and her courage in speaking out against gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

“If Marzieh is a champion on the mat, she is above all a champion for women’s rights.”

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Au , l’humoriste française Sophia Aram a remis le Prix international des droits des femmes à Marzieh Hamidi.

Sophia a salué la détermination de Marzieh en tant qu’athlète de taekwondo et son courage à dénoncer l’apartheid de genre en Afghanistan.

« Si Marzieh est une championne sur le tatami, elle est avant tout une championne des droits des femmes. »

Святлана Ціханоўская (Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya), President-elect of Belarus, advocated for the freedom of Belarusian political prisoners, urging the international community to refuse normalization with Lukashenko’s regime.

“Do not trade principles for convenience. Do not forget the names of our hostages.”

Pedro Urruchurtu, held hostage in the Argentine embassy in Caracas for over 400 days, told about an unlikely source of hope while trapped: wild parrots.

He shared that as his rescue drew nearer, “They felt like a signal from the universe that it was time to fly.”

His message: Finding symbols of hope under threat is itself an act of resistance.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting our mission to bring courageous voices from around the world to Geneva and highlight their fight for human rights and democracy.

Listen as Blessed Mhlanga shared with the cost of free speech and journalism in Zimbabwe: Prison.

Mnangagwa’s regime has proven Blessed’s point: Following his speech, authorities called him a criminal, threatening arrest. He has been unable to return home to his family in Harare.

Pastor Ezra Jin is being held as a political prisoner in China simply for leading his Christian church.

His daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, made an urgent appeal for her father's release:

"I now stand before you in my most vulnerable state, 5 months pregnant and traveling across the world to plead for my father’s release."

The CCP must immediately release Pastor Jin and all 17 other Zion Church leaders.

A Sudanese human rights advocate and legal advisor at The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Mutasim A. Ali spoke at about the atrocites occuring in Sudan:

"Imagine waking up to learn that half the people you know are gone. That is what happened in El Fasher."

“This is the Berlin Wall moment for Iranians. Help us to bring down the wall of dictatorship.”

Must-watch speeches by Masih Alinejad at .

Kim Yumi 김유미, a North Korean defector, spoke at about the peril North Korean soldiers held as prisoners of war in Ukraine face if sent back:

"The authoritarian North Korean regime defines the act of becoming a POW instead of committing su***de as a betrayal against the regime."

If forced to repatriate, they will be accused of treason - facing imprisonment or ex*****on.