Friends of a Free Iran, an inter-parliamentary group at the European Parliament, invited Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), to speak at a conference about the wave of executions in Iran and EU policy. The conference took place on the 7th December – the day before the World Day of Human Rights. Mrs. Rajavi’s full speech can be read on the NCRI’s website.
The Media Express reported that the conference was attended by members of the European Parliament and many human rights advocates from all over the world. In her speech, Mrs. Rajavi thanked the Friends of a Free Iran for organising the conference and for their efforts for the Iranian people. She reminded the attendees that there are over 5,000 prisoners on death row in Iran – including numerous human rights activists and followers of different faiths.
Mrs. Rajavi spoke about the Iranian regime’s complete disregard for human rights and pointed out that “under the rule of the Iranian regime every single article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been violated”.
She added: “The right to life, the right to freedom, the right to security, the right to protection from torture and arbitrary arrests, the right to freedom of religion and faith… The most horrific page in the record of this regime is the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in only a few months in 1988. This genocide was carried out upon a written edict by Khomeini. The main perpetrators of this massacre are now among the regime’s leaders and senior officials.”
The silence that has accompanied Iran’s ongoing violations of human rights his unfair to the Iranian people. It is permitting the Iranian regime to carry out violations and repress the people even further. It is not bringing moderation to Iran. Quite the contrary.
Mrs. Rajavi said: “The P5+1 countries, however, gave so many illegitimate concessions to the mullahs. They allowed the mullahs to maintain the structure of their bomb making system. In addition, in return for the JCPOA, Western governments accepted some unwritten agreements with the mullahs, such as: Freedom of sending IRGC troops to Syria; Overlooking the regime’s ballistic missile tests despite UNSC resolution 2231; Overlooking the Quds Force’s destructive role in Iraq; And remaining silent on the violations of human rights in Iran.”
Suggesting how to move forward, Mrs. Rajavi made several suggestions. In particular, she called on the EU and its member states to firstly condition any business dealings with Iran on an end to executions in the country. Secondly, Mrs. Rajavi advised against business dealings with IRGC companies. She said: “Such businesses only fuel the regime’s repressive machine in Iran and the war machine in Syria.” Thirdly, she said that it must be recognised that the Iranian people are desperate for freedom and democracy. Lastly, the Iranian regime needs to be stopped from meddling in other countries in the region, in particular in Syria where the regime is responsible for this crime against humanity.
Mrs. Rajavi ended her speech by thanking Friends of a Free Iran for standing up to the religious dictatorship in Iran, telling them that they are “on the right side of history”.
