Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 12:00 – 12:20
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar interviewed by Shila Behjat
Shila Behjat in conversation with activists currently fighting for freedom, human rights and democracy across the globe.
Shila Behjat is a journalist and author with a background in legal studies and international law. She is a cultural editor for the TV channel ARTE and the author of several books and articles on socio-political issues focusing on literature, women and human rights.
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is an Iraqi-American human rights activist who fled to the US from Baghdad in 2013. He is the founder and president of the NGO Ideas beyond Borders and campaigns against extremism and disinformation, particularly in the Middle East.
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 12:40 – 13:00
Sebastien Lai interviewed by Shila Behjat
Sebastien Lai is the son of Jimmy Lai, a journalist, publisher, pro-democracy activist and prisoner of conscience who has been detained in Hong Kong since 2020. Sebastien now campaigns for his father’s release and return to the UK.
In cooperation with the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 13:20 – 13:40
Rosa María Payá interviewed by Shila Behjat
Rosa María Payá is a Cuban dissident and founder of the NGO Cuba Decide. Her work builds on the legacy of her father, Sakharov Prize-winner Oswaldo Payá, who was murdered in 2012. In 2019, she was awarded the Morris B. Abram Prize for Human Rights.
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 14:00 – 14:20
Nino Dolidze interviewed by Shila Behjat
Georgian democracy activist Nino Dolidze has been fighting for many years for free elections, the rule of law, gender equality, human rights and democratic development both in Georgia and abroad. She is Managing Director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) in Georgia.
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 14:40 – 15:10
Zhou Fengsuo und Wuer Kaixi interviewt von Shila Behjat
Zhou Fengsuo founded and headed the “Voice of Students” movement during the Tiananmen protests, which were bloodily suppressed in June 1989 and ended in a massacre. Zhou Fengsuo was forced to leave China in the 1990s and is now one of the most prominent Chinese campaigners for democracy and freedom.
As a student leader of the Chinese democracy movement, Wuer Kaixi gained international recognition during the protests in 1989 for his courageous confrontation with Prime Minister Li Peng. Since the massacre on 4 June, he has been living in exile and is currently Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of the Taiwanese parliament.
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 15:30 – 16:00
Leopoldo López interviewed by Shila Behjat
The Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López was a political prisoner of Nicolás Maduro’s regime for over five years before he managed to escape to Spain in 2020. There he continues his work for democratic change, including as co-founder and Secretary General of the World Liberty Congress.
Talk: The Fight for Freedom Across the Globe, 16:20 – 16:50
Pussy Riot (Masha Aljochina & Diana Burkot) & Alexander Cheparukhin interviewed by Shila Behjat
Masha Aljochina & Diana Burkot are Russian political activists and performance artists who gained international fame as members of the punk band Pussy Riot, which was founded in 2011. Their anti-Putin «punk prayer» held in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 2012 caused a worldwide sensation.
Alexander Cheparukhin is a music and theatre producer. He is the producer of Pussy Riot’s “Riot Days” show.
Music: FarAvaz, 17:10 – 17:30
Woman.Life.Freedom
FarAvaz is an activist for women’s rights and empowerment. She fled Iran and now lives in exile in Berlin. Her offense in Iran was singing in public.
Born in Tehran in 1990, FarAvaz started playing the guitar at the age of 12. Later, she learned to play other instruments such as the piano, harmonica and Ney-Anban, while also developing her singing skills. She now composes and performs pieces that blend Western music styles with Iranian folklore. FarAvaz has participated in numerous music and theater performances and believes that singing is essential for her survival
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