In a remarkable initiative, Rt. Hon. David Jones, a renowned British MP and a former Minister wrote a letter to the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on behalf of 15 Parliamentary and international committees and over 120 parliamentarians and dignitaries who have expressed solidarity with the Free Iran World Summit 2022, scheduled for 23rd and 24th July.
“We write respectfully to draw your attention to the need to take a firm approach to the oppressive theocracy that has been ruling Iran for more than four decades. The regime is the world’s number one executioner per capita of its citizens and the only executioner of minors,” the letter reads.
The letter, which enjoys the support of 120 of parliamentarians in Europe, underlined how Iran’s ruling theocracy has “suppressed all forms of peaceful dissent and protests by teachers, educators, workers, farmers, retirees, pensioners, nurses, and students, among others. No sector of Iranian society has been spared.”
“The regime has not only plundered the Iranian nation’s wealth and resources but has also squandered them by funding, arming, and training its terrorist proxy groups in the Middle East and advancing its dangerous missile and nuclear programs in defiance of its international obligations,” the letter adds.
The letter also draws the attention of Prime Minister Johnson to Iran’s deplorable human rights situation, especially the crisis of impunity, which has reached its height since the ascendance of Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency.
“The carefully engineered presidential election brought into office Ebrahim Raisi, who is notorious for his role in the torture and execution of political prisoners, particularly his participation in the massacre in the summer of 1988 of 30,000 political prisoners, most of whom were members /or supporters of the PMOI/MEK democratic opposition, as a member of the ‘death commission’ in Tehran. His mandate was to suppress any form of dissent,” the joint statement reads in this regard.
“Nevertheless, the Iranian people have refused to surrender to the regime and have demonstrated their determination to overturn it in hundreds of protests across the country. The Resistance Units, affiliated with the organized opposition PMOI/MEK, have waged a nationwide campaign to break the wall of repression and have inspired the protests and demonstrations to a point where outright opposition to Khamenei and Raisi is openly and enthusiastically voiced,” the letter adds, recognizing the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom.
This statement also underlines, “A failure to listen to the aspirations of the Iranian people is a flaw in our approach towards Iran.”
The signatories of this statement also urge PM Johnson to support the Iranian people’s call for freedom and democracy. “We urge you to express your support for the Iranian people and their struggle for freedom and democracy, to be on the right side of history, and to recognise their right to freedom. The experience of the past 40 years has made it palpably clear that appeasement has never worked. Firmness is key to enabling the Iranian people to achieve freedom and to secure regional and global peace and stability.”