Iran in Focus
The panel discussion will spotlight the plight of Iranian prisoners of conscience, focusing on their resilience and struggles under harsh conditions. Speakers will emphasise the courage of activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens who will continue to demand basic freedoms despite intimidation and abuse. A video message from Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi will be shared, delivering her voice of defiance and hope from behind prison walls.
Speakers
-
Nazanin BoniadiActress and Human and Women's Right ActivistNazanin Boniadi
Counsellor
Actress and Human and Women's Right Activist
Nazanin Boniadi is an Iranian-born actress and internationally recognised human and women’s rights activist. As an Amnesty International UK Ambassador and long-time partner of Amnesty USA, she has championed the rights of marginalised populations—especially Iranian women, youth, and prisoners of conscience—since 2008. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has emerged as a key global voice for Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Her advocacy has brought her to Capitol Hill, the UN, and parliaments across the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In 2022, she met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and testified before the UN Security Council on the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. She has spoken at major international forums including the Munich Security Conference, World Economic Forum, and Oslo Freedom Forum. Boniadi is the recipient of numerous human rights honors, including the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize, the 2022 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and awards from Freedom House and the Feminist Majority Foundation. Her commentary has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, CNN, and The Washington Post. As an actress, Boniadi is known for her roles in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Homeland, Counterpart, and Hotel Mumbai. She will next star in A Mosquito in the Ear and The Saviors. She is fluent in English and Persian.
-
Nazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeBritish-Iranian Author and Former HostageNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Counsellor
British-Iranian Author and Former Hostage
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a British-Iranian activist who was detained in Iran in April 2016 and was held hostage there for 6 years. She was released and returned back to the UK in March 2022. She is currently living in London with her daughter and husband, writing her book A Yard of Sky.