MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iran, notably the situation of women’s rights defenders and imprisoned EU dual nationals

17.9.2019 - (2019/2823(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 144 of the Rules of Procedure

María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Luisa Porritt, Atidzhe Alieva‑Veli, Abir Al‑Sahlani, Andrus Ansip, Petras Auštrevičius, Phil Bennion, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Sylvie Brunet, Dita Charanzová, Olivier Chastel, Katalin Cseh, Chris Davies, Anna Júlia Donáth, Laurence Farreng, Fredrick Federley, Valter Flego, Klemen Grošelj, Christophe Grudler, Irena Joveva, Ondřej Kovařík, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Radka Maxová, Karen Melchior, Javier Nart, Lucy Nethsingha, Bill Newton Dunn, Urmas Paet, Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, Michal Šimečka, Susana Solís Pérez, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Ramona Strugariu, Hilde Vautmans, Marie‑Pierre Vedrenne, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou
on behalf of the Renew Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0089/2019

B9‑0094/2019

European Parliament resolution on Iran, notably the situation of women’s rights defenders and imprisoned EU dual nationals

(2019/2823(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those concerning human rights, in particular those of 14 March 2019 on Iran notably the case of human rights defenders, of 13 December 2018 on Iran notably the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh , of 31 May 2018 on the situation of imprisoned EU-Iranian dual nationals in Iran and of 17 November 2011 on Iran - recent cases of human rights violations,

 

-  having regard to the statement of 16 August 2019 by UN human rights experts on the detention and lengthy prison sentences against Mrs Mojgan Keshavarz, Mrs Monireh Arabshahi and Mrs Yasaman Aryani, three Iranian women arbitrarily detained for publicly protesting against the compulsory wearing of veils,

 

-  having regard to the statement of 29 November 2018 by UN human rights experts, entitled ‘Iran must protect women’s rights advocates’,

 

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

 

-  having regard to the statement by the Spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) of 12 March 2019 on the conviction of Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh,

 

-  having regard the Council Conclusions on Iran of 4 February 2019,

 

-  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human rights of 1948,

 

-  having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party;

 

-  having regard to the UN General Assembly resolution of 17 December 2018 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,

 

-  having regard to the new EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, which aims to place the protection and surveillance of human rights at the heart of all EU policies,

 

-  having regard to Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/568 of 12 April 2018, extending the restrictive measures related to serious human rights violations in Iran for one year, until 13 April 2019,

 

-  having regard to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran of 30 January 2019,

 

-  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

1. Whereas Iranian activists Mrs Mojgan Keshavarz, Mrs Monireh Arabshahi and Mrs Yasaman Aryani were arbitrarily detained in April 2019 after publishing an online video, in which they appear without their headscarves, peacefully protesting against Iran’s compulsory veiling laws while handing out flowers on the Tehran metro on 8 March 2019, International Women’s Day;

 

2. Whereas Mrs Mojgan Keshavarz, Mrs Yasaman Aryani and Mrs Monireh Arabshahi were sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment, on a charge of “assembly and collusion in acts against national security”, “propaganda against the state”, “encouraging and providing for [moral] corruption and prostitution”; whereas Mrs Mojgan Keshavarz was also convicted for “insulting the sacred” to a total of 23 years and six months’ imprisonment;

 

3. Whereas Mrs Mojgan Keshavarz, Mrs Yasaman Aryani and Mrs Monireh Arabshahi were forcibly “disappeared” for between 9 and 14 days and were denied access to lawyers during the investigation stage, while their legal representatives were also reportedly prohibited from representing them at their trial;

 

4. whereas the continuing practice of arrests of EU-Iranian dual citizens is followed by prolonged solitary confinement and interrogations, lack of due process, and long prison sentences based on vague or unspecified ‘national security’ and ‘espionage’ charges, as well as state-sponsored smear campaigns against the imprisoned individuals;

 

5. whereas at least five EU-Iranian dual nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Ahmadreza Djalali, Kamal Foroughi, Kamran Ghaderi and Abbas Edalat, are currently imprisoned in Iranian prisons;

 

6. whereas Mrs Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has been unlawfully imprisoned in an Iranian prison since 3 April 2016, having been unlawfully arrested for months, accused of spying, then subsequently denied a free and fair trial;

 

7. whereas Mrs Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has often been deprived of medical treatment leading to the deterioration of her physical and mental health conditions; whereas Mrs Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been recently denied access to international phone calls and had family visits restricted to only once a month;

 

8. whereas the Iranian judiciary continues to clamp down on peaceful acts of resistance by women’s rights defenders protesting compulsory hijab; whereas at least one hundred women’s rights defenders were arrested or remained in detention in Iran during 2018 according to human rights organisations;

 

9. whereas Iran has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly;

 

10. Whereas Nasrin Sotoudeh the Iranian human rights lawyer and recipient of the 2012 European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, was arrested in Tehran in June 2018; Whereas Nasrin Sotoudeh, after months of detention and without legal assistance by a lawyer of her choosing, was tried in absentia on 30 December 2019 and sentenced to 38 years of prison and 148 lashes; Whereas Nasrin Sotoudeh prosecution is largely in connection with her work as a lawyer defending women’s rights defenders, notably women who have been peacefully protesting Iran’s compulsory hijab law by removing it in public;

 

11. Whereas the Iranian judiciary system continues to criminalise legitimate human rights activism; whereas the judiciary has used article 48 of Iran Criminal procedure law to further restrict the access of conservationists and several human rights defenders’ access to a lawyer of their own choice;

 

12. Whereas Iranian courts regularly fall short on providing due process and fair trials, with denial of access to legal counsel and denial of consular, UN or humanitarian organisations visits; whereas sentences by the Iranian judiciary are often based on vague or unspecified national security and espionage charges;

 

13. whereas Iran, as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), should respect freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, in line with its obligations;

 

14. whereas Iran continues to frequently apply the death penalty;

 

 

1. Calls on the Iranian authorities for the immediate and unconditional release of Ms Mojgan Keshavarz, Ms Yasaman Aryani and Ms Monireh Arabshahi as women’s rights defenders protesting compulsory hijab; calls also to release also Nasrin Sotoudeh, Farhad Meysami, Narges Mohammadi, Arash Sadeghi, Reza Khandan and all the human rights defenders, imprisoned and sentenced for simply exercising their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly;

 

2. Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all EU-Iranian dual nationals including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Ahmadreza Djalali, Kamal Foroughi, Kamran Ghaderi and Abbas Edalat, currently detained in Iranian prisons; denounces the continuing practice of imprisonment of EU-Iranian dual nationals by the Iranian judiciary following unfair trials;

 

3. Calls on the Iranian Authorities to amend Article 48 of the Criminal Procedures Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to ensure that all defendants have the right to be represented by a lawyer of their choice and have access to a free and fair trial; urges to disclose full information on the charges against all detainees, in line with Iran’s commitments to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

 

4. Condemns the continuous practice of intentionally denying medical care to prisoners; deplores the systematic torture in Iranian prisons and calls for an immediate cease of all forms of torture and ill-treatment of all detainees; condemns the practice of denying access to phone calls and family visit for detainees;

 

5. Urges the Iranian authorities to cooperate without further ado with the European Union Members States embassies in Tehran in order to enable the establishment of a comprehensive list of EU-Iranian dual nationals currently detained in Iranian prisons, and to closely monitor each individual case, given that citizens’ security and protection of their fundamental rights are of the highest importance for the EU;

 

6. Demands the Iranian judiciary to cease the permanent harassment against human rights defenders and condemns all acts of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders, including for communicating with EU and UN officials and independent human rights organizations;

 

7. Urges the Iranian authorities to ensure the unreserved and full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which is signatory; urges the Iranian authorities to join the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;

 

8. Praises the courage and commitment of the Iranian women’s rights defenders that peacefully challenge the mandatory dress code; denounces the continuing repression of women in relation to their objection to compulsory veiling and in exercise of their rights to freedom of expression;

 

9. Strongly condemns the use of the death penalty; calls on the Iranian authorities to introduce an immediate moratorium as a fundamental step towards its abolishing;

 

10. Urges the Iranian judiciary to cease online censorship, to respect the universal human rights of all people, in particular the rights to free expression online and offline;

 

11. Urges the VP/HR, the EEAS and Member States to publicly call for the release of all human rights defenders arbitrarily imprisoned and of all EU-Iranian dual nationals; stresses that pending their release, said EU officials should call on the Iranian authorities to guarantee their safety and wellbeing and to pursue full investigations into reports of torture;

 

12. Urges all Member States with a diplomatic presence in Tehran to use the mechanisms envisaged in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders to support and protect these individuals, including by public statements, diplomatic démarches, monitoring trials and prison visits;

 

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the European Commission, the VP/HR, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Government and Parliament of Iran.