NCRI – On the eve of the Human Rights Day, European lawmakers held a conference at the European Parliament on Wednesday December7. They strongly condemned the violations of human rights in Iran and urged the EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini and Member States to condition the expansion of relationships with Iran to the halt of executions.
This meeting was held by the initiative of the Friends of a Free Iran intergroup at the European Parliament, which has support of some 300 MEPs from different political groups. The keynote speaker was the Iranian opposition leader, Maryam Rajavi who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
A number of MEPs from various European countries spoke at the event, the following is the speech of Mr Richard Ashworth, MEP from UK :
Madam Rajavi, my lords, ladies and gentlemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw8Ewhjyh-U
It’s good that we have so many people here today on International Human Rights Day. And I’m extremely pleased therefore that Mrs. Rajavi is with us because she brings with her demands for justice and accountability of the 1988 massacre. We as Europeans hold dear our values of promoting the principles of democracy, human rights and rule of law. And so as parliamentarians, it’s our duty to demand justice over the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners. Particularly we send that message to the EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini. We would expect of her that she represents those very values of democracy, rule of law and human rights that we hold so dear. So therefore, we want to know why Mrs. Mogherini in the past year has failed to condemn the appalling human rights abuses taking place in Iran. She should know that the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights of situation in Iran has reported that last year executions in Iran surged to nearly 1,000. And that is the highest level in more than a quarter of a century.
According to Amnesty International, 60% of all registered executions in the world took place in Iran last year. Iran holds the infamous title of Top State Executioner per capita. And it has consistently held the hideous record of Top Executioners of Minors. Actually, Mrs. Mogherini should know that Iran hanged 10 prisoners including three women, during the period of her visit to Tehran in April this year. I think it’s a matter of deep regretting shame that she chose to remain silent on those appalling human rights violations while she was there.
So I urge the EU High Representative, I urge the UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, not to allow the mullahs regime to get away with such atrocities as the 1988 massacre. Let us not degrade and devalue our founding principles. We’re proud to support the millions of Iranians demanding democracy and humanity. We should press the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry in order to bring the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to justice. Thank you.