While I’ve read reports of protesters in the vicinity of the 2023 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland I haven’t witnessed any activity near the Congress Center itself. That’s what made this demonstration stand out for me and why I wanted to speak to the participants.
A small group of Iranians, some of whom told me they had family members executed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, had created a memorial in an open courtyard on the promenade. It was filled with poster-sized photos of men and women who have been killed by the regime since widespread protests began last September, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. She died in police custody after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for improperly wearing her headscarf.
I spoke to two organizers who conveyed that their mission was to have world leaders declare the IRGC a terrorist organization. They had come to Davos in the hopes of getting attention from the international delegations present here this week.
While they haven’t yet gotten any direct response from the WEF, Iran has been in focus on both the main stage and the sidelines this week. The Forum presented a panel on the future of women in Iran featuring actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi alongside Masih Alinejad, who appeared as a guest on our program GZERO World last fall after the protests started.
Also, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made headlines Tuesday when she told reporters here in Davos she would support listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, which would criminalize membership in the organization. She said Iran’s regime is “trampling over fundamental human rights.”