Prevent further bloodshed!
Austrian League for Human Rights – With their uprising and cries of "Down with Khamenei,“ “Down with the principle of absolute clerical rule,” and “Long live freedom,” the Iranian people have shown that they seek an end to the religious dictatorhship. The pioneering role of women and youths is especially praiseworthy. Despite the brutal violence, arbitrary arrests, systematic torture and rape of prisoners and massive press censorship, the riots have continued to spread and have intensified. Hundreds of detainees are now facing the "revolutionary court".
The Deputy Chief of the Judiciary, Raissi, who is also a judge at the Revolutionary Court putting on trial detainees of the uprising as “mohareba” (enemies of God), has stressed that under Article 186 of the Islamic Penal Code, as long as the leadership of the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) exists, any support for the PMOI would be considered “moharebeh” (waging war on God) and is thus punishable by death. Amnesty International has warned against show trials and executions of incarcerated PMOI supporters who have been arrested during peaceful demonstrations and are accused of “moharebeh.”
The Iranian regime continues to make every effort to annihilate the 3,400 opposition members in Iraq's Camp Ashraf in order to make it easier for itself to suppress the uprising at home. During a violent raid by Iraqi government forces on Camp Ashraf on July 28 and 29, eleven people were killed and over five hundred were injured. This crime was condemned throughout the world. Now, the immediate intervention of the Untied Nations is necessary to ensure the protection of residents against massacres and forced displacement.
People in Iran have called for the separation of religion and state. A pluralistic and secular republic with no death penalty and a nuclear-free Iran that lives in peace with all countries guarantees world peace. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect, has called for the rejection of foreign military intervention and the appeasement of the mullahs, instead inviting Iranians to resist against the religious despotism and engage in a national solidarity. This can form the basis for a democratic change in Iran.
Now it is time for the European Union to take the will of the Iranian people for obtaining freedom very seriously. The first step is to provide full support for the uprising in Iran. It must be emphasized that the criminal theocracy is illegitimate. The UN must be supported in the process of assuming its responsibilities concerning the killings and human rights abuses in Iran as well as for the protection of Iranian dissidents in Ashraf. The world can no longer simply be a witness to the religious dictatorship murdering its own people. We all bear a great responsibility in this matter.
Dr. Marion Wisinger, Secretary General
Austrian League for Human Rights
A-1060 Wien, Mariahilfer Straße 1d/13, Tel: +43 1 523 63 17 Fax: +43 1 587 41 68-99
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