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Timothy Cho: “The power of love, democracy, and the right to free speech is more powerful than any nuclear power.”

By Sam Namias As Kim Jong Un’s hermit kingdom becomes an increasingly closed and dangerous country, I interviewed North Korean human rights activist and two-time defector Timothy Cho (GS’22). We discuss Cho’s inspiring personal story and outlook on life, the importance of the Geneva Summit, and what the international community should do to support those trapped

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Frances Hui: “Existing is part of resisting”

By Emma Waxlax Ahead of the 26th anniversary of the Hong Kong Handover on July 1st, I interviewed prominent Hong Kong activist Frances Hui (GS’23). Amidst a worsening crackdown on democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, we discuss Hui’s experiences confronting CCP oppression, the situation in her home city today, and

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Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera: “You cannot be free when other people around the world are not free.”

By Emma Waxlax On May 29th, Uganda’s President Museveni signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act, a bill that expands already existent legislation targeting homosexuals, trans and gender non-conforming people. Sparking condemnation across the international community, the bill prescribes the death penalty for certain sexual relations involving individuals of the same-sex,

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15th Geneva Summit: In the News

  Media Mentions of the 2023 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. For videos, photos, transcripts, quotes, and more, click here. CNN interview with Summit speakers, husband and wife Félix Maradiaga and Berta Valle: “‘An audit of the heart’: Nicaraguan dissident Felix Maradiaga and his wife Berta Valle on

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The 15th Geneva Summit: Photos, Videos, and Testimony

15th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy • Hi-res photos:  Geneva Summit (May 17, 2023) | United Nations Opening (May 16)• Video of full event• Videos of individual speakers Remarks in video and transcript: • Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to

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Hope for Iran: Nazanin Afshin-Jam In Conversation With Hillel Neuer

In 2009, Nazanin Afshin-Jam chaired the first Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, where she spoke on the human rights crisis in Iran and the crimes committed by the Islamic Republic. More than a decade later and the situation in Iran has only worsened, igniting mass protests following the

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14th Geneva Summit: In the News

Media Mentions of the 2022 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. For videos, photos, transcripts, quotes, and more, click here. The World story on Summit speaker and chief of staff to Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov: “‘Tectonic Shift’ as Support for Putin erodes” CNN segment on Summit speaker and chief

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The 14th Geneva Summit: Photos, Videos, and Testimony

Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov on stage at the 14th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, April 6, 2022. For photos, videos, and speaker testimony, see below: For all high-res photos, click here. For a full video, click here. For individual videos, click here. To read full individual testimony,

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2022 Courage Award: In the News

Media mentions of the Geneva Summit’s decision to award Enes Kanter Freedom its 2022 Courage Award: The National Endowment for Democracy article on the decision to award Freedom the Courage Award and other Summit speakers: “NGOs Announce Courage Award for activist NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom”. Newsweek article on the

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“These Are Our Memories”: A Ukrainian Ex-MP On Why Kyiv Won’t Surrender

Interviewed by Dylan Rogers Almost every Ukrainian kid knows the phrase “4am Kyiv is bombed”. It is the expression that was used to announce the start of the German bombardment in 1941. Yet last Thursday morning it came alive again, as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin began an unprovoked attack on

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The Reporter That Won’t Be Silenced

Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. Kazakhstan’s strongmen have long cast the country as a bastion of stability in an otherwise restive region. Yet in January Kazakhstan erupted in protest, as an increase in fuel prices combined with political concerns to drive nationwide demonstrations […]

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The Unlikely Face of Nicaragua’s Opposition

Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. After elections denounced by President Biden as a “pantomime”, I sat down with Berta Valle, the wife of imprisoned opposition leader Felix Maradiaga (GS’19)

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“I Know the Course of History”: Lyubov Sobol Confronts Russia’s Future

Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. Shortly after Russia went to the polls this September, I sat down with opposition leader Lyubov Sobol (GS’20). At 34 Sobol occupies an idiosyncratic place in Russia’s pro-democracy movement. She has been with the now-imprisoned Alexei Navalny from the start, joining his anti-corruption campaign in 2011.

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GS Speaker Spotlight: Q&A with Yavuz Aydin (GS’20)

Editor’s Note: On July 15, 2016, the day of the failed coup attempt in Turkey, there were 14,500 judges and prosecutors. One of them was Yavuz Aydin (GS’20) who, among 4,500 other jurists, was purged by the Erdogan regime, smeared as a terrorist, and ultimately exiled—all for the crime of