The International Radical Party held à conference at the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva. Speakers at the conference condemned human rights violations and increasing executions in Iran.
They discussed the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, as well. Speakers called for a UN probe into these crimes, since the conference coincided with the 34th UN Human Rights Council session.
Elizabetta Zamparotti, former Italian MP and joint chair of the Italian Committee of Citizens and Parliamentarians for a Free Iran, spoke about the human rights situation in Iran.“As members of the international Radical Party we support an international campaign for the rule of law in various countries. Iran must be the center of this campaign’s focus,” she said, and added, “Despite an international trend seeking the complete revoking or suspension of the death penalty, Iran continues to horrendously use the death penalty even against juveniles, and this is a violation of the most fundamental international conventions, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Rouhani is no different in comparison to other figures involved in this regime’s massacre of 30,000 political prisoners back in 1988.”
Dr. Henirk Mansson, former Italian MP and professor at Copenhagen University, said that the passage of time does not meant that human rights violations are forgotten, and discussed various international methods to evaluate the 1988 massacre in Iran. “Change will only take place through brave activists in Iran, and the international community, and the West must support this effort by conditioning any economic relations with this regime to Tehran respecting human rights standards,” he said, and continued, “There are three methods to pursue this dossier. First, referring the case to the International Criminal Court and demanding strong accountability. Second is to include the 1988 massacre into the mission of Iran’s Special Rapporteur. This can be a decent basis for holding the perpetrators accountable. And there is an imminent solution through the UN Investigative Commission. This can be tracked through the UN Human Rights Council and especially the High Commissioner in regards to gross and systematic human rights violations. To this day 18 investigative commissions have been launched and eight cases have involved human rights violations.”
Also speaking at the conference were a number of eyewitnesses, including:
• Farzad Madadzadeh, former political prisoner in Iran, told what he witnessed in Iran’s prisons, the crimes and tortures used against political prisoners, as well as the various pressures imposed on himself and other cellmates.
• Ms. Iran Mansouri, whose family members are political prisoners in Iran, spoke of arrests, tortures and pressures against political prisoners.
• Ms. Simin Nouri spoke of women’s roles in the Iranian opposition and explained the activities of the women’s movement, and their international support.
•Ms. Masoumeh Joshaghani, former political prisoner, provided details about what she witnessed in the regime’s prisons and how political prisoners, especially women, stood firm.
• Ms. Azade Alamian referred to a scope of women’s activities against the regime that seek to establish freedom and equality.
