Canadian 'Samidoun' Activist Charlotte Kates Accepts Human Rights Award In Iran Alongside Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Leader Ziyad Nakhaleh In Ceremony Honoring Hamas Leader Haniyeh; Kates Faces Hate Speech Charges In Canada After Praising October 7 Attack, Says On Iranian TV: Western Democracy Is A Lie

In August 2024, Canadian pro-Palestinian activist Charlotte Kates, the international coordinator of Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, traveled to Iran to accept the "Eighth Annual Islamic Human Rights And Human Dignity Award," as one of six recipients, alongside the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Ziyad Nakhaleh.

The awards were presented in Tehran on August 4 by the secretary general of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[1] Kates is married to Khaled Barakat, a member of the executive committee of Masar Badil who is a former senior official with designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[2]

The awards ceremony also honored slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, slain IRGC Qods Force Commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi, and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who died in May in a helicopter crash alongside Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi.

Charlotte Kates accepts the Iranian human right award.[3]

The awards ceremony was broadcast by Iran's Press TV.[4] To view, click below:

The Samidoun website celebrated Kates receiving the Iranian award.[5]

Charlotte Kates On Iranian TV: Western So-Called Democracy Is A Lie, I Was Arrested And May Face Charges Merely For Talking About The Legitimacy Of The Palestinian Armed Resistance And The Brave, Heroic October 7 Operation; I Want To Get Resistance Organizations Removed From The So-Called Terrorist List

While in Tehran, Kates was interviewed on August 5 by Iran's Ofogh TV, where she said she was arrested merely for talking about the legitimacy of Palestinian armed resistance and the "brave, heroic October 7 operation," and that he was arrested the behest of Zionist organizations and political officials. Kates said that this was because of the "lie of so-called Western democracy."

To view the clip of Kates's appearance on Iranian TV, click here or below:

Host: "Did you have the experience of being arrested by the police?"

Charlotte Kates: "I mean yes, I was arrested in Canada, in April, simply because I spoke at a demonstration and a rally. We have mass rallies and demonstrations held in Vancouver. We are seeing this in cities and locations around the world, in the world's capitals, particularly in the heart of the imperial core, in the countries that are arming and funding the genocide that Israel is bringing... Hundreds, if not thousands, if not tens of thousands of people, participating in mass demonstrations. And they want to criminalize speaking about the resistance.

"I spoke about the brave, heroic October 7 operation and the legitimacy of the resistance, and why I want to get the resistance organizations off the so-called terrorist list. And now the police department arrested me and is seeking to pursue hate crime charges against me at the behest of Zionist organizations and political officials. This is because of the lie of so-called Western democracy and concern for human rights.

"What we see across the West, in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and Britain are thousands of people being arrested, simply for demonstrating on their campuses, and setting up tents, to say that their universities should stop investing in genocide. What we are seeing in Germany are hundreds of people who are being arrested for doing nothing more than saying: 'From the river to the sea Palestine will be free'.

"I, myself, in Canada, have been arrested and am facing upcoming potential charges for doing nothing more than talking about the legitimacy of the Palestinian armed resistance and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. This [is] just a very common experience of what we are seeing..."

Kates In Vancouver Speech Leading To Her Arrest, Hate Speech Charges: Long Live October 7; Hamas, PFLP, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah Are Not Terrorist Groups, They Are Heroes

Kates is currently facing charges of hate speech in Canada after speaking at a pro-Palestinian protest in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she praised the October 7 attack on Israel and called for the removal of Hamas, the Popular Fron for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Lebanese Hizbullah from Canada's list of terror organizations.

To view the clip of Samidoun's Charlotte Kates's statements which led to her arrest, click here or below:

"We Stand With The Palestinian Resistance And Their Heroic And Brave Actions On October 7"

Charlotte Kates: "We demand a free Palestine from the River to the Sea. And we stand with the Palestinian resistance and their heroic and brave actions on October 7. As they said, long live October 7th! And we say today: long live October 7th!"

Crowd: "Long live October 7th!"

Kates: "They wanted to make... Justin Trudeau denounced that statement, Pierre Poilievre denounced that statement. Every one of these Canadian politicians who could not find one word to denounce the slaughter of 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, who could not find one word to denounce the mass graves of Palestinian doctors, and patients, and mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and beloved ones. They could not find one word. But they could find all the words to denounce the beautiful, brave, and heroic resistance of the Palestinian people – which did not begin on October 7, which has continued for over 75 years, which has continued for over 120 years, and which has never stopped fighting for the liberation of Palestine, and is today fighting not only for the liberation of Palestine, but for the defense of humanity against genocide.

"Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ], Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine [PFLP], And Lebanese Hizbullah Are Not Terrorists; They Are Resistance Fighters, Freedom Fighters, Heros For A New World"

"And so we must make it clear also that it is long past time to delist Palestinian and Lebanese resistance organizations from Canada's so-called list of terrorist entities. Hamas is not a terrorist organization. [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad is not a terrorist organization. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is not a terrorist organization. Hizbullah is not a terrorist organization. These are our resistance fighters. These are our heroes.

[...]

"They are not terrorists. They are resistance fighters. They are freedom fighters. And they are heroes for a new world.

[...]

"October 7 Showed That Palestine Is Almost Free Of Zionism From The River To The Sea"

"So I want all of us to not be silent about the resistance. To not be silent about the armed resistance. To be loud and clear about it and to say that it is true that October 7 changed the world.

[...]

"It showed that Palestine is almost free of Zionism from the River to the Sea.

[...]

"Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hizbullah – these are not names to be ashamed of. These are not names to be afraid of. These are the names of those who fight and sacrifice for all of us and for a better world.

"Resistance Fighters Set An Example With Their Guns And Missiles... And With Their Hope For One Resistance That Stretches from Palestine To Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq, To Every Single One Of Us, That Is Committed To See The End Of Zionism, The End Of Imperialism"

"And so what can we do here? We can camp-in on campus. And we can say that we demand that every resistance organization is off the so-called terror list, and that the Zionist regime and the settler-funders here are on it instead. Because everything that we can do is just to live up to the example that the resistance fighters set every day. Yes – with their guns, with their missiles, and with their rockets. But also, with their medicine, with their books, with their love, and with their hope and joy for the future of a liberated Palestine and for the future of humanity – and for one resistance front that stretches from Palestine to Yemen, to Syria, to Iran, to Iraq, to every single one of us that is committed to see the end of Zionism, the end of imperialism, and victory for Palestine. Victory for the resistance."