Yesterday, April 26, a gathering was held by Free Them Now to welcome May Day and in solidarity with the April campaign against execution and imprisonments in Iran.
The conference was held on the final day of the April campaign against executions, which brought together 163 organizations, groups, and parties, along with 9 collectives from Iran, in opposition to executions and imprisonment.
The conference emphasized three key demands of this call: the unconditional release of all political prisoners and detained protesters, an end to executions, and the abolition of the death penalty, and free access to the internet for the people of Iran. Free Them Now campaign also stressed the need for a global boycott of the Islamic regime and its expulsion from the ILO.
Milad Rasaei-Manesh hosted the program on behalf of New Channel TV. The event was broadcast simultaneously on YouTube and Clubhouse. Free Them Now expresses its appreciation to New Channel TV and to those involved in organizing the Clubhouse broadcast.
Shahla Daneshfar, spokesperson for Free Them Now, and Kazem Nikkhah, head of international relations for the organization, delivered speeches thanking the guests and speaking about May Day, the Islamic Republic, arrests, and executions.
Other speakers at the conference included:
Salvatore Marra, Head of International Policy at the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), a union with 5.5 million members;
Parisa Pooyandeh, from the coordinating committee of the Global Network in Defense of Political and Ideological Prisoners;
Esmail Abdi, social activist and former Secretary-General of the Teachers’ Trade Association;
Kourosh Danesh, political activist, trade unionist, and former official of CGIL;
Masoud Arjang, Deputy Secretary-General of the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) in Vancouver;
Behrouz Asadi, spokesperson for the Woman, Life, Freedom Association in Germany and member of the global “No to Execution” campaign;
Pirooz Nami, social activist and former secretary of the Khuzestan Teachers’ Trade Association;
Hassan Salehi, spokesperson for the International Committee Against Executions and member of the global “No to Execution” campaign;
Behnoush Saba, political activist and member of the UK teachers’ union;
Farhad Sheikhi, labor activist from Iran;
Farideh Bozorg, political activist, member of the nurses’ union, and Free Them Now activist in Canada;
Ameneh Asgari, researcher and child rights advocate, representative of “Defenders of Children’s Rights in Iran” (CRAII), mathematics researcher at Harvard University and lecturer;
Abbas Mandegar, political and labor activist and Free Them Now member in Canada.
In response to the invitation, messages were also sent by:
Eric Lee, founder of the international labor website LabourStart;
Shiva Mahbobi, spokesperson for the Committee to Free Political Prisoners;
Mark Osborne, member of the UK National Education Union (NEU).
Opposition to the government’s war-mongering policies, condemnation of the bloody crackdown of December protests in Iran, protest against arrests and ongoing killings by the Islamic regime, and the call to end the Islamic reule as the only path to saving society from war, insecurity, poverty, inequality, and systemic repression were emphasized by all speakers.
The conference also stressed the importance of a global boycott of the Islamic regime, its expulsion from all international institutions, specially ILO, and the immediate and unconditional freedom to hold International Workers’ Day events—an ongoing campaign of Free Them Now.
Between speeches, video clips were shown featuring protests by oil workers, retirees, and nurses, as well as campaigns against imprisonment and executions, along with protest songs.
Free Them Now
April 27, 2026
shahla.daneshfar2@gamil.com
kazem.nikkhah@gmail.com