عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Reports: Iranian Dissident Wounded in Stabbing in the Netherlands

An Iranian dissident was reportedly seriously injured in a knife attack in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden. (AFP file photo)
An Iranian dissident was reportedly seriously injured in a knife attack in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden. (AFP file photo)
TT
20
TT

Reports: Iranian Dissident Wounded in Stabbing in the Netherlands

An Iranian dissident was reportedly seriously injured in a knife attack in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden. (AFP file photo)
An Iranian dissident was reportedly seriously injured in a knife attack in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden. (AFP file photo)

An Iranian dissident was seriously injured in a knife attack in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden, a local newspaper reported on Saturday, citing the victim’s family.

The man, who was named by the Leeuwarden Courant newspaper as Sadegh Zarza, fled Iran in the 1980s and currently serves on the board of a Dutch organization that is critical of Tehran.

Police in the city confirmed that a 64-year-old man was stabbed on Friday and said a 38-year-old suspect who lives in Rotterdam had been arrested at the scene. The newspaper said the suspect was an Iranian national.

“We see that several videos of this incident are being circulated on social media,” police said in a statement, according to Reuters. “We ask you not to re-share them.”

The man was stabbed repeatedly and suffered serious injuries, but is expected to recover.

In January 2019, the European Union ordered sanctions against Iran after France, Denmark and the Netherlands said Tehran had plotted attacks in Europe, including political killings of Iranians living in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2017.

Tehran denied any involvement in the alleged attacks.

Most Viewed

 
World

Released Pro-Palestinian Protest Leader Sues Trump for $20 Mn

Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Released Pro-Palestinian Protest Leader Sues Trump for $20 Mn

Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)

Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, sued the Trump administration Thursday for $20 million over his arrest and detention by immigration agents.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody following his arrest in March.

The 30-year-old was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana last month, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.

"The administration carried out its illegal plan to arrest, detain, and deport Mr. Khalil 'in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family,' the claim says," according to the Center for Constitutional Rights which is backing Khalil.

Khalil suffered "severe emotional distress, economic hardship (and) damage to his reputation," the claim adds.

The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.

Khalil called the lawsuit a "first step towards accountability."

"Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss," he said in the statement.

"There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power."

Khalil has previously shared his "horrendous" experience in detention, where he "shared a dorm with over 70 men, absolutely no privacy, lights on all the time."

President Donald Trump's government has justified pushing for Khalil's deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences."

Khalil's detention came amid Trump's campaign against top US universities in recent months, with the president facing off against Columbia, Harvard and other schools over foreign student enrollment while cutting federal grants and threatening to strip accreditation.

Beyond his legal case, Khalil's team has expressed fear he could face threats out of detention.