On the eve of the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 17 October 2022, in Luxembourg, which will be discussing the EU response to the suppression of current protests in Iran, a declaration signed by more than 170 members of the European Parliament from different political groups was sent to the president of the Council of Ministers and all foreign ministers of the Members States. The declaration calls for support for the Iranian people and states “it is time to recognize the right of the Iranian people to defend themselves and to overthrow this regime and to establish a free and democratic Iran.” It also calls on the EU Member States to make any relation with Iran contingent on ending the suppression and freeing all those arrested.
The declaration reads as follows:
Condemn brutal suppression of protestors
October 2022
Update 2
Since mid-September, protests and anti-regime uprisings have spread all over Iran. The protests by women and youth have so far expanded to more than 170 cities in all 31 provinces. Demonstrations are taking place in 45 major universities. The protesters, chanting the rallying cry of “Death to Khamenei,” seek to overthrow the unelected
religious dictatorship. The repressive forces fire tear gas and live ammunition at the protesters.
The new round of uprisings was sparked when Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Iran’s Kurdistan province, was arrested in Tehran under the pretext of mal-veiling and was murdered as a result of police beatings. As of October 1, at least 400 demonstrators have been killed and countless others have been injured, and over 20,000 arrested. By disrupting and disconnecting the Internet in large parts of Iran, the regime is trying to prevent the transmission and dissemination of news and images of protests, the true dimensions of the uprising, and finally revelations regarding the scope of its massacre and suppression. The international community must guarantee free access to the Internet for the people of Iran.
Resistance Units and the organized opposition are taking serious risks to play a vital role in organizing and sustaining these protests while putting up a resistance front against repression.
Over the last 40 years, executions and repression have been carried out by Iran’s current leaders, such as Ali Khamenei and the regime’s current President, Ebrahim Raisi. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the prosecution of Raisi for his role in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. In that year, 30,000 political prisoners, 90% of whom were from the PMOI/MEK, were executed in accordance with Khomeini’s fatwa. During the uprising of the Iranian people in November 2019, more than 1500 demonstrators were killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The prospect of change in Iran has never been this accessible. It is time to recognize the right of the Iranian people to defend themselves and overthrow this regime and establish a free and democratic Iran.
In view of the above facts, we, the undersigned, issue the following call to the European Union, HR/VP, United Nations, and, its member states:
1- Strongly condemn the killing of demonstrators in Iran and take urgent measures to stop this repression. The dossier of this regime’s crimes must be referred to the United Nations Security Council and those responsible for committing such crimes must be brought to justice;
2- Make any relations with Iran contingent upon the halt of executions, domestic repression, and a crackdown on protests and dissent and a release of all those arrested during the recent uprising;
3- Help the Iranian people have free and unhindered access to the internet in response to the regime’s internet shutdown and blocking of social media platforms;
4- Impose punitive measures on those responsible for the latest deadly crackdown and regime leaders like Raisi in line with EU’s Magnitsky-style laws as required by the European Parliament;
5- Recognize the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations, their organized Resistance movement, and their right to establish a free, democratic, and secular Iran.