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

Cornelia Ernst, Mick Wallace, Manuel Bompard, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Stelios Kouloglou, Idoia Villanueva Ruiz, Eugenia Rodríguez Palop
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

B9‑0095/2019

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 on the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh of December 2018,  on the imprisoned EU-Iranian dual nationals in Iran of May 2018, of 14 March 2019 on the case of human rights defenders, 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 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran from September 2018;

 

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

 

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

 

- having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

 

- having regard to the ruling of the International court of Justice of 8 October 2018 on “alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular rights (Islamic republic of Iran v. United states of America) that the United States of America,  must remove, by means of its choosing, any impediments arising from the measures announced on 8 May 2018 to the free exportation to the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran of (i) medicines and medical devices; (ii) foodstuffs and agricultural commodities; and (iii) spare parts, equipment and associated services (including warranty, maintenance, repair services and inspections) necessary for the safety of civil aviation; and that the United States of America must ensure that licenses and necessary authorizations are granted and that payments and other transfers of funds are not subject to any restriction in so far as they relate to the goods and services referred to in point;

 

 

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

 

 

1. Whereas the human rights situation in Iran continues to worsen;

 

2. whereas Iran is facing growing economic challenges, resulting from a long history of unilateral and unlawful sanctions dating back to 1979 and the increasingly brutal imposition of sanctions by the United States; whereas the worsening economic and social situation -  in part by the consequences of the commencement of IMF reforms (falling living standards, high inflation, perceived misallocation of public funds, delays in the payment of salaries, and challenges in accessing water, among other issues)  resulted widespread protests;

 

3. whereas in particular women and girls experience discrimination, in law and practice, and receive little or no protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading practices, including domestic violence, marital rape, and early and forced marriage;

 

4. whereas since 2018 dozens of women peacefully protesting against the abusive, discriminatory and degrading practice of forced hijab by taking off their headscarves in public were violently assaulted and arrested; whereas millions of others were routinely harassed and assaulted in public places by the “morality police” for failing to comply with Iran’s strict Islamic dress code; whereas arrests of women’s rights activists have reportedly increased in recent weeks, and an official has given a warning that other people protesting against the compulsory wearing of the veil may be charged with national security offences;

 

5. whereas according to open-source information since January 2018 at least 39 women were arrested in connection with hijab protests; whereas another 55 people were detained for their work on women's rights, including women who tried to enter football stadiums illegally and lawyers advocating for women;

 

6. whereas on 11 March 2019, human rights defender and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes, including in relation to her work defending women charged for protesting against the compulsory hijab: whereas in June, more than 1 million people joined a global campaign to demand that the Iranian Government release Ms. Sotoudeh;

 

7. Whereas Mojgan Keshavarz was sentenced by trial court to 23 years and six months’ imprisonment and Yasaman Aryani and Monireh Arabshahi were each sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for an online video on International Women’s Day protesting against the compulsory veiling laws;

 

8. whereas, upon unconfirmed reports, Iran is the only country in the world that stops and punishes women seeking to enter football stadiums; whereas in March, Sahar Khodayari was arrested by police trying to enter the main stadium in Tehran to watch a football match; whereas months later, dogged by courts and threatened by imprisonment, she set herself on fire in front of a court house; whereas her tragic death has prompted an outpouring from advocate, journalists and football players around the world, asking FIFA to take action to end Iran's unjust stadium ban;

 

9. Whereas Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee have both received, in September 2019, an additional two years and one month imprisonment sentence, during a revision hearing of the Tehran Appeal Court for "insulting the supreme leader," to their initial prison sentence of six years handed out in October 2016; whereas it is believed the additional prison sentence was handed out in reprisals for the women human rights defenders’ protests in prison; whereas Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was out on bail, and is therefore at immediate risk of re-imprisonment;

 

10. whereas Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee’s husband, Arash Sadeghi, a human rights defender himself, is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence in Rajaee Shahr Prison and is at immediate risk of death resulting from a rare form of bone cancer; whereas the Iranian authorities have agreed to transfer him to a hospital, but the transfer keeps on being postponed; whereas Saeed Shirzad is also at Rajaee Shahr Prison, and also at immediate risk of death as he is suffering from kidney failure as a result of mistreatment in prison and several hunger strikes, and keeps being denied medical care;

 

11. whereas human rights lawyers have faced increasing levels of intimidation, arrest and detention for providing legal counsel to human rights activists; whereas since September 2018, at least eight prominent lawyers have been arrested for defending political prisoners and human rights defenders.; whereas on 1 June 2019, Amirsalar Davoudi was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 111 lashes for his human rights work; whereas Massood Shamsnejad, a professor and lawyer, was sentenced to six years in prison for propaganda against the State after he had represented several Iranian Kurdish political prisoners;

 

12. whereas Narges Mohammadi, Per Anger Prize laureate, is currently serving a sixteen years sentence for her campaign to abolish the death penalty and work with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi;

 

13. whereas according to UN sources in 2018, there were seven reported cases of executions of child offenders; whereas there are currently an estimated 90 individuals on death row who were all under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offences;  whereas among the most recent cases, on 25 April 2019, two 17-year-old children, Mehdi Sohrabifar and Amin Sedaghat, were executed for the alleged crimes of rape and robbery in Adelabad prison in Shiraz, Fars Province; whereas he two were reportedly forced to confess under torture;

 

14. whereas there are estimated to be at least 30 such cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, ill-treatment and denial of appropriate medical treatment of dual and foreign nationals in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,  Xiyue Wang,  Ahmadreza Djalali, Siamak and Baquer Namazi, and Kamran Ghaderi, an Iranian-Austrian dual national detained in Iran since January 2016 and suffering from a tumor in his leg; whereas according to the UN Islamic Republic of Iran has subjected these individuals to sham trials, which have failed to meet basic fair trial standards, and convicted them of offences on the basis of fabricated evidence;

 

15. whereas in April 2019 Iran offered to engage diplomatically with the US administration to negotiate a prisoner swap for US citizens in exchange for the return of Iranian prisoners in the US and on extradition request by the US; whereas Iranian officials put the number of Iranian prisoners held by the US at a dozen or more, some who have dual citizenship.; whereas Iran was interested in negotiating the exchange of those who had been detained as a result of the US’ illegal sanctions against Iran;whereas the US administration failed to give a positive or constructive response to the Iran offer;

 

 

1. Strongly condemns the detention of the aforementioned women human rights defenders, and expresses its shock at the credible reports of denied medical attention to prisoners with medical emergencies; urges the Iranian authorities to quash these convictions and immediately release all human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained for their work in advocating women’s rights and sentenced merely for carrying out their legitimate and peaceful human rights work;

 

2. Urges the Iranian authorities to facilitate the access of independent medical doctors to the detainees; emphasises that the treatment of all detainees, including human rights defenders, while in detention, must adhere to the conditions set out in the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment adopted by means of UN General Assembly Resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988; stresses the urgent need to immediately transfer Saeed Shirzad and Arash Sadeghi to a hospital for medical care;

 

3. Expresses its solidarity with and respect for the women who are engaging in the peaceful protests against the compulsory veiling (hijab); underlines that coercion by the state or by private actors to ensure compliance with rules on traditional, cultural or religious forms of dress violate women’s rights to freedom of expression and to freedom of religion or belief; stresses that women should be free to decide whether or not they want to wear specific symbols and dress on the basis of personal religious convictions, cultural customs or for any other reason; 

 

4. Calls upon the Iranian authorities to  immediately and unconditionally release all woman who were engaging in a peaceful protest against compulsory veiling (hijab),  to end the persecution of women who speak out against compulsory veiling, and abolish this discriminatory and humiliating practice;

 

5. Supports the demands of the women’s rights movement and calls on the Iranian authorities to allow women to enter all sports stadiums in Iran of their choosing without discrimination or risk of persecution or punishment; supports the calls of women’s organizations who  demand that the Iranian government enter in constructive talks with FIFA and the Asian Football to address this unacceptable situation;

 

6. applauds Iran for providing necessary support for millions of Afghan women and children refugees who live in Iran, in particular the provision of free access to education for about half a million Afghan refugee students;

 

7. Remains deeply concerned by the arbitrary arrest, detention, ill-treatment and denial of appropriate medical treatment of dual and foreign nationals in the Islamic Republic of Iran and calls for their release;

 

8. Reiterates is firm position on death penalty and urges the Islamic Republic of Iran in particular to immediately stop sentencing children to death;

 

9. Notes with deep concern the negative impact of US extraterritorial sanctions on the economic and social situation in Iran, which affect ordinary Iranians and their enjoyment of their economic and social rights: stresses deep concern that by preventing financial transfers to the country, the re-imposition of sanctions further hinder the availability and distribution of essential medical and pharmaceutical equipment and supplies, endangering Healthcare and health of Iranian people, in particular children, women and people with chronical diseases, potentially increasing mortality rates; demands that the US to lift these sanctions with immediate effect;

 

10. 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; 

 

11.  Calls on the US administration to engage with Iran in a positive and constructive manner in relation to Iran's offer of prisoner exchange in April;

 

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