The Iranian Resistance has strongly condemned Australia’s bid to forge a deal with Iran’s regime to return asylum seekers, the Australian Associated Press reported.
“The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has issued a statement urging the Australian government, the international community and human rights groups to ‘prevent this shameful act’,” the AAP wrote on Tuesday.
The call comes as Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop met in Canberra with the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Such a deal could secure the return of 9000 failed asylum seekers but Ms Bishop says talks have only made it to official level and it had not been discussed between ministers.
“It certainly is a goal,” she told reporters on Monday.
The NCRI expressed its “deep abhorrence” that Canberra was in “collusion with the religious fascism ruling Iran,” the AAP wrote.
“In its statement the NCRI called on Australia ‘not to victimise the sacred right of asylum for petty and short term economic gains’.”
“It also urged the international community, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the EU to ‘condemn this treatment of Iranian refugees in Australia which is blatant violation of international conventions and covenants’.”
“In a statement to AAP, NCRI foreign affairs committee member Ali Safavi condemned Canberra for ‘rolling the red carpet’ out for Mr Zarif while cracking down on asylum seekers and ignoring human rights abuses in Iran.”
The AAP further quoted Dr Safavi: “It is shameful and only encourages the Tehran regime to intensify repression at home and to expand its malign interference to the rest of the Middle East.”
“Mr Safavi said there had been 2300 executions during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s tenure.”
“The NCRI statement said ‘clerical rule’ had turned Iran into ‘a prison for all Iranian people, especially women’.”
“Acid attacks, flogging, stoning, gouging out of eyes, amputation of limbs, and piling up of students, political and civil activists, intellectuals, lawyers and artists in its medieval prisons are but a part of the regime’s infamous record.”
