An online conference at the EU parliament hosted by the Iranian opposition NCRI calls on the EU to condemn the Human rights violation in Iran. In this event, dozens of MEPs joined to give their solutions to condemn the Human rights violation in Iran. This is while Iran’s government is benefiting from the silence about its Human rights violations such a torture, rape, killing of political prisoners, beatings, and killings of dissidents and other civilians, discrimination of women and the minorities, execution of offenders under 18 years of age, choking the freedom of speech and repressing the press. The list of the regime’s human rights violation is as long as its 40 years of rule.
Now the EU should put its appeasement policy aside and stand alongside the Iranian people for a free and democratic Iran. Below is a summary of the MEPs’ speeches on this event.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, MEP from Spain, “Iranian women face discrimination. Iranian law denies freedom of religion. We have a political and legal duty to stand up for human rights in Iran.”
Rasa Juknevičienė, MEP from Lithuania, “Iran’s people don’t want this regime and are vehemently opposed to it. On the other hand, a powerful alternative exists, meaning that change in Iran is imminent. What should our policy be in Europe vis-à-vis Iran’s regime? We must stand by the Iranian people as doing so is defending our democratic principles. must stand firm against the regime.”
Jan Zahradil, MEP from the Czech Republic, “We’re at a crucial point in history. The region is unstable. We must push the EU and Borrell to change their policy. EU must not just watch. It must act. We can also take measures at the national level.”
Gianna Gancia, MEP from Italy, “It is so vital to put pressure on Iran’s regime to open the gates of its dungeons to an international fact-finding mission. Therefore, I insist that this is an obligation of the EU.”
Veronika Vrecionová, MEP from the Czech Republic, “As we speak about Iran, we witnessed the execution of Navid Afkari. Iran’s regime is spreading hatred & terrorism in the world. I support Iran’s people who want freedom and justice in their country.”
Marco Zanni, MEP from Italy, “Iran’s regime has a horrible record of human rights abuses. The execution of Navid Afkari is the latest manifestation of the Iran regime’s cruelty. The regime has total disregard for humanitarian standards.”
Milan Zver, MEP from Slovenia, “The operations of Iran’s security forces on EU soil are also of great concern & needed to be stopped. I strongly condemn any acts of violence committed by Iran’s regime. It’s our duty to stand by the people of Iran.”
Ivan Štefanec, MEP from Slovakia, “Our European democratic principles demand that the EU takes the lead in defending the Iranian people’s human rights and protesting against Iran’s regime for its atrocities.”
Derk Jan Eppink, MEP from the Netherlands, “I was shocked by the execution of Navid Afkari for his participation in Iran protests. Unfortunately, we are witnessing the EU appeasement policy with Iran. The result is an ever-more aggressive regime.”
Benoît Biteau, MEP from France, “Iran is the first state in terms of executions per capita. We cannot close our eyes to the events in Iran. Imprisoned protesters in Iran must be freed. I will continue to denounce executions in Iran.”
Patrizia Toia, MEP from Italy, “We demand an international inquiry to visit Iranian prisoners. We must make sure human rights are number one where other countries are concerned. We must give priority to human rights rather than economic interests.”
Alessandra Moretti, MEP from Italy, “Women can’t travel alone, can’t go to stadiums, can’t choose who to marry. One hundred women have been executed during [regime President Hassan] Rouhani’s tenure. There is no respect for individual rights. Our fight to abolish the death penalty is not just to save lives.”
Stanislav Polčák, MEP from the Czech Republic, “In our view, if the European Union is not at the forefront of this issue, it has trampled upon European democratic principles. We have been criticizing and protesting against the policy of the EU in this parliament for more than a decade, and now, as we approach an imminent social explosion in Iran, we want this disagreement to reach closure. Nothing justifies wanting to tolerate and appease the regime. Today, appeasement with this brutal regime is a disgrace to the EU and against the security of Europe, and we warn that the EU must seriously reconsider its policy towards this regime. The EU is at a crossroads.”
Hermann Tertsch, MEP from Spain: “We don’t want any appeasement which is so dear to some forces here in this parliament. We want no appeasement with this dictatorship, with this tyrannical regime in Teheran. We want a very resolute search for an end of this regime and for a peaceful and democratic Iran in the future. That’s the right of Iranians and that is a right which we have the pride and that we are obliged to fight for it here in Europe and all over the Democratic West.”
Lars Patrick Berg, MEP from Germany, “It is time for action by the world’s democratic governments. Words of condemnation are not enough; We need concrete actions. We in Europe must show to the Iranian people that we support their fight for freedom and democracy and continue to urge the international community to bring pressure on the unrepresentative regime of the mullahs.”
