• EN - English
Entschließungsantrag - B8-0186/2019Entschließungsantrag
B8-0186/2019
Dieses Dokument ist in Ihrer Sprache nicht verfügbar. Sie können es in einer anderen Sprache abrufen, die im Sprachauswahlmenü aufgeführt ist.

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iran, notably the case of human rights defenders

12.3.2019 - (2019/2611(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Heidi Hautala, Barbara Lochbihler, Margrete Auken, Bodil Valeroon behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0186/2019

Verfahren : 2019/2611(RSP)
Werdegang im Plenum
Entwicklungsstadium in Bezug auf das Dokument :  
B8-0186/2019
Eingereichte Texte :
B8-0186/2019
Abstimmungen :
Angenommene Texte :

B8‑0186/2019

European Parliament resolution on Iran, notably the case of human rights defenders

(2019/2611(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably on the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh of December 2018. on the imprisoned EU-Iranian dual nationals in Iran of May 2018, on the EU strategy towards Iran of April 2014 and on death penalty of October 2015 and to its report on the EU strategy towards Iran after the nuclear agreement of 24 October 2016;

 

- having regard to the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty, on Torture and on Freedom of Expression;

 

- having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders;

 

- having regard to the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran from September 2018 and January 2019;

 

- having regard to the Statement by UN human rights experts “Iran must protect women´s rights advocates”, of 29 November 2018;

 

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

 

- having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

 

- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. whereas the environmental rights defenders Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghadirian, Morad Tahbaz, and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, were arrested in January and February 2018 and have not had access to a lawyer of their own choosing; whereas the trial against these activists started on 30 January 2019 behind closed doors; whereas Seyed Emami, founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, died in custody and the circumstances of his death are yet to be clarified; whereas a travel ban has been placed on his wife, Maryam Mombeini;

 

B. whereas the renowned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was tried in absentia on 30 December 2018; whereas the Revolutionary Court has issued the verdict on the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh; whereas the information on the final verdict is still unclear, since official sources have reported that she has been sentenced to 7 years in prison while Nasrin Sotoudeh´s has been informed that her sentencing amounts to 38 years of prison and 148 lashes; whereas Nasrin Sotoudeh was awarded the 2012 Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament in recognition of her outstanding work in the defence of human rights;

 

C. whereas in the past months there has been a heavy crack down on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, including jailing of peaceful critics on spurious national security charges; whereas the Government reportedly closed seven million web addresses, and the websites of human rights and political opposition groups;

 

D. whereas UN human rights experts have called on Iran to guarantee the rights of human rights defenders and lawyers who have been jailed for publicly supporting protests against the mandatory wearing of the hijab in Iran;

 

E. whereas there are numerous reports regarding the inhuman and degrading conditions in prisons and the lack of adequate access to medical care during detention with the aim of intimidating, punishing, or coercing detainees, in contravention of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners; whereas according to civil society reports detainees held by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards were routinely subjected to prolonged solitary confinement amounting to torture;

 

F. whereas there are no independent mechanisms for ensuring accountability within the judiciary, and serious concerns remain over the politicisation of judges, particularly those presiding over Revolutionary Courts; whereas judicial harassment is being used to silence human rights defenders;

 

G. whereas Iran´s criminal law allows for juvenile offenders to be sentenced to death, with at least six child offenders executed in 2018; whereas according to the UN Special Rapporteur at least 85 juvenile offenders remain in death row, in breach of Iran’s international obligations;

 

H. whereas the EU has adopted restrictive measures related to violations of human rights, including asset freeze and visa bans for individuals and entities responsible for grave human rights violations and ban on exports to Iran of equipment which might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications; whereas these measures are regularly updated and remain in place; whereas the last update, from 12 April 2018, extended them until 13 April 2019;

 

 

 

1. Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Nasrin Sotoudeh, the environmental rights defenders Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghadirian, Morad Tahbaz, and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, as well as all the human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience detained and sentenced for merely expressing their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly; stresses that that Iranian authorities must in all circumstances ensure that human rights defenders are able to carry out their human rights work free of threats, intimidation, and impediment;

 

2. Condemns in its strongest terms the crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, urges the Iranian authorities to ensure the full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which it is party;

 

3. Insists that the Iranian authorities must ensure the right to a due process and to a fair trial of all detainees, including the right to have a lawyer of their own choice;

 

4. Insists that Iranian authorities must guarantee the safety and well-being of all detainees while in detention, including adequate medical care to human rights defenders; calls on the Iranian authorities to investigate all allegations of ill-treatment in detention and bring perpetrators to justice; calls for an independent investigation into the death in custody of Seyed Emami;

 

5. Welcomes the much-awaited amendments to the drug-trafficking law, which will reduce the imposition of capital punishments, but stresses that this is insufficient; is extremely concerned by the cases of juvenile offenders condemned to death penalty; calls on the Iranian authorities to introduce an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a step towards abolition; calls for a review of all death sentences to ensure that these trials adhered to international standards;

 

6. Deplores the fact that the EU VP/HR Frederica Mogherini has so far refrained from calling publicly for the release of the environmental rights activists detained; calls on all senior representatives of EU Member States and of the EU institutions, notably VP/HR Mogherini and Commissioners, to systematically raise the case of the arrested human rights defenders in their contacts with their Iranian counterparts and to request to meet with her during their visits in the country;

 

7. Calls on EU Member States with diplomatic missions on the ground to fully implement the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and to provide all appropriate support to human rights defenders detained, including prison visits, trial monitoring and the provision of legal or any other form of assistance that he might require;

 

8. Insists once again on the importance of an expeditious establishment of an EU Delegation in Tehran, which would inter alia strengthen the EU capacity to monitor the human rights situation on the ground and engage with its Iranian counterparts and with local civil society;

 

9. Calls on the EU and its Member States to increase their protection and support for human rights defenders in Iran, including through emergency grants under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights;

 

10. Calls on the EEAS to continue including human rights, particularly the situation of human rights defenders, in the context of the EU-Iran High Level Dialogue;

 

11. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to reaffirm the categorical principle that European aid and assistance, including to UNODC counter-narcotics programmes, may not facilitate law enforcement operations that lead to death sentences and the execution of those arrested;

 

12. Calls on the Iranian authorities to extend a standing invitation to the visit of all Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and to cooperate in a proactive manner, urges them to ensure particularly that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran is allowed to enter the country;

 

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice‑President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran;

Letzte Aktualisierung: 11. März 2019
Rechtlicher Hinweis - Datenschutzbestimmungen