We are South African Iranians passionately advocating for justice and genuine revolution in Iran. It deeply pains us to learn that a covert celebratory event for the Islamic Republic of Iran is scheduled to take place on 6th & 11th of February 2026 at Maslow Time Square in Pretoria. Hosting such an event continually serves to legitimize a regime that has, for decades, oppressed its own people. More importantly, in recent events, it has been responsible for massacring tens of thousands of its own civilian protestors. This is a direct affront to the values of freedom, dignity, and justice cherished by both South Africans and Iranians striving for a better future.

Maslow Time Square has agreed to host this secretive celebration of the Iranian regime, an event that quietly endorses actions and policies that millions of Iranians including us vehemently oppose. By providing a platform for this regime, the hotel risks aiding its propaganda narrative and erasing the suffering, imprisonment, and loss endured daily by the Iranian people. This _ cannot _ be what South Africa stands for, especially given our nation’s hard-won history of liberation and its ongoing commitment to human rights.

Credible international organizations, including Amnesty International, consistently document grave human-rights abuses in Iran: arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, executions, suppression of free speech, and systemic violence against civilians. South Africa, having emerged from its own brutal history of oppression, should never become a venue directly or indirectly for regimes that mirror such cruelty against their own people. As a host nation, we bear responsibility for what occurs within our borders.

The management of Maslow Time Square has the power to take a principled stand. By withdrawing their venue agreement for 6 February 2026, they can send a clear and powerful message: South Africa does not provide legitimacy to regimes that trample on civil liberties and human dignity. A public statement from the hotel’s leadership would further affirm this commitment and ensure that this event does not proceed under the guise of neutrality.

Looking forward, greater transparency in venue bookings and proactive engagement with civil society could help prevent hotels and institutions from becoming unknowingly complicit in events linked to governments with well-documented human-rights violations.

We must act swiftly and decisively. We call upon fellow South Africans, defenders of freedom, and all who believe in justice to join us in urging Maslow Time Square to retract this venue agreement. Let us ensure that South Africa’s legacy is not stained by silent complicity.
Please sign this petition and stand united against the normalization of oppressive regimes.