MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Iran
20.10.2009
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Véronique De Keyser, Richard Howitt, Ana Gomes, Gianni Pittella on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0104/2009
B7‑0104/2009
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Iran
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions concerning the human rights situation in Iran,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the child, to all of which Iran is a party,
– having regard to the declarations by the EU-Presidency, the High Representative for the CFSP, the EU Foreign Ministers, the Heads of State and government of the G8, the European Council and the President of the EP on the repression of demonstrations during the post-electoral unrest in Iran in June 2009,
– having regard to the declaration of the EP president of 9 October 2009 reiterating the commitment of the EP towards global abolition of the death penalty and denouncing specifically capital punishment for juvenile crimes and the imminent executions in Iran,
– having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas, according to the network Iran Human Rights, at least 139 people have been executed since 1 July 2009 in Iran and whereas, according to Amnesty International, 140 juvenile offenders are known to be currently on death row in Iran,
B. whereas stoning sentences continue to be passed, irrespective of a moratorium declared by the Iranian Head of the Judiciary in 2002,
1. Pays tribute to the courage of all Iranian men and women who relentlessly defend their basic freedoms and democratic principles and express their wish to live in a society free of repression and intimidation; pays a special tribute to the Iranian women who played a crucial role in the post electoral demonstrations in June and in particular to Neda Agha Soltan, the first martyr of the protests, and Shadi Sadr, human rights defender, arrested on 15 July 2009 for having spoken publicly about human rights' violations in prisons committed on detainees following Iran's disputed presidential elections;
2. Calls on the Iranian Government to respect the fundamental civil and political rights, in particular the right to free expression and demands that all peaceful demonstrators and all those arrested in the wider context of the recent unrest, be they campaigners, journalists, lawyers be released unconditionally;
3. Is extremely concerned over reports that in only 50 days following the disputed 12 June 2009 presidential elections, 115 persons were executed in Iran, while the authorities have disclosed almost no information about their identity or the crimes for which they were convicted; according to Amnesty International, 12 individuals face imminent execution in the coming days;
4. Expresses deep concern at the way in which the mass trials further to the disputed 12 June 2009 presidential elections are conducted; according to a number of reports, confessions are often the result of beating, sleep deprivation, harsh interrogation methods, threats of torture; recalls that Article 14 of the ICCPR to which Iran is a party, grants detainees the right "to communicate with counsel of his/her own choosing" and "not to be compelled to testify against himself/herself or to confess guilt";
5. Recommends that a Special Envoy be dispatched by the UN to monitor the situation of political detainees and to ensure that the Iranian authorities adhere to international process standards and to their legal human rights obligations;
6. Recalls that serious doubts persist about a transparent and democratic electoral process leading to the re-election of President Ahmadinejad and calls on the Iranian authorities to substantiate the validity of the electoral results in a credible and fully transparent manner;
7. Condemns, in the strongest terms, the execution on 11 October 2009 of Behnoud Shojaee, who had been convicted of a murder he committed at the age of 17;
8. Urges the Iranian authorities to commute the death sentences for Mr. Angoti and Mr. Abbas Husseini, to abolish the use of the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of eighteen and to bring its legislation in line with the international conventions Iran has ratified;
9. Recalls that the Iranian authorities remain fully responsible for respecting and protecting the rights of those under its jurisdiction, irrespective of the role that the judicial system may foresee for private parties in the judicial process; (Minors cannot be executed at the request of the family of a victim);
10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Human Rights Council, the Head of the Judiciary of Iran and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.