Three weeks before the award ceremony for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian people, a letter signed by 306 associations of Iranians abroad, mostly in Germany and other European Union countries, has asked the foundation not to entrust the prize to Prince Reza Pahlavi. The letter was published on Friday, 16 October 2026, on the European news site EU Reporter.
The letter is addressed to Stefan Seibich, chairman of the foundation's board, and Wolfgang Kubicki, chairman of Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP). The signatories say they object because Prince Reza Pahlavi has not condemned the repression of the monarchy era and of SAVAK; they also object to holding the ceremony in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, the historic symbol of German parliamentary democracy. The names and number of the signatory associations have not been independently verified.
The Freedom Prize goes to the Iranian people, not to an individual
On 14 September 2026 in Potsdam, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation announced that it is awarding its 2026 Freedom Prize to the "Iranian people" for their struggle against the Islamic Republic for freedom, civil rights and democracy. The prize has been awarded every two years since 2006. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, 7 November, in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, and Bijan Djir-Sarai, the Free Democratic Party's foreign policy spokesman, will deliver the laudatory speech.
According to the foundation, Prince Reza Pahlavi will receive the prize in trust, on behalf of the Iranian people, until the day it can be handed over to freely elected representatives of the people of Iran. Stefan Seibich has said the foundation deliberately chose a nation in order to honour the hundreds of thousands who have risked their lives by opposing the authorities. The foundation called Prince Reza Pahlavi the best-known face of Iran's opposition and recalled that he considers determining the future political system the right of the Iranian people and, as long as the system is democratic, does not prefer one form over another.
Support from doctors and political prisoners
In response to the letter, support for the foundation's decision has been widespread. Prince Reza Pahlavi's media office announced that 1,700 Iranian doctors and specialists, in a statement, backed awarding the prize to the Iranian people and entrusting it to Prince Reza Pahlavi, and sent the text with the signatories' names to the foundation. His media office also published a statement by 133 political prisoners and activists addressed to the foundation's board, supporting the Prince's trip to Germany and the foundation's decision. In a video message that reached his office from inside Iran, Iranians were called on to take part in large numbers in the 7 November rally in Frankfurt.
Opponents of Prince Reza Pahlavi had earlier claimed that he has no programme and no belief in democracy; in response to this claim, Saeed Ghasseminejad in Düsseldorf spoke of at least four elections foreseen in the transition plan. The Iran Prosperity Project is also continuing preparations for the transition period in a new institution.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation is giving the 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian people, and Prince Reza Pahlavi will hold it in trust until the day the Iranian people's freely chosen representatives are elected.
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