On October 12, hundred and three members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe signed a declaration, calling on the European member states and the international community to condemn the crackdown on Iranian protesters and hold the regime’s officials responsible to face justice. The signatories also demanded the recognition of the right of the Iranian people to resist repression, defend themselves, and provide free access to the Internet.
The declaration reads as follows:
Support Iranian people’s protests
Written declaration No. 753
We, the undersigned, declare the following:
Since mid-September, the new wave of uprisings was sparked when Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was arrested in Tehran under the pretext of mal-veiling and brutally murdered by the repressive forces.
Protests and uprisings have spread all over Iran to more than 170 major cities in all 31 provinces and 45 universities. Repressive Guards (IRGC) fire live ammunition at protesters. It is reported over 400 protestors have been killed and 20 000 arrested. They have been chanting: “Down with Khamenei”, “Down with the dictator”, seeking the overthrow of the regime.
By disrupting the Internet, the regime is preventing the dissemination of their atrocities, news, and images of protests.
Resistance Units and the network of PMOI/MEK play a vital role in mobilising, spreading, and continuing the protests across Iran.
Over the last 43 years, 120 000 political activists have been executed. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the prosecution of Ebrahim Raisi for his role in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. According to reports 30 000 were executed, 90% of whom were Mujahedin (PMOI/MEK) supporters. In November 2019 uprisings, 1500 protesters were killed by the IRGC.
We call on the European member States and the international community to:
– strongly condemn killing and arrests of the protesters. The regime’s officials responsible must be sanctioned and face justice;
– recognise the right of Iranian people to resist repression and to defend themselves;
– provide free access to Internet for the Iranian people.