DRAFT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the EU response to the protests and executions in Iran
16.1.2023 - (2023/2511(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Michael Gahler, David McAllister, Rasa Juknevičienė, Željana Zovko, Andrius Kubilius, Antonio López-Istúriz White, David Lega, Javier Zarzalejos, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Radosław Sikorski, Gheorghe‑Vlad Nistor, Tom Vandenkendelaere
on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0066/2023
B9‑0070/2023
European Parliament resolution on the EU response to the protests and executions in Iran
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, in particular those of 17 February 2022 on the death penalty in Iran[1] and of 6 October 2022 on the death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women’s rights protesters in Iran[2],
– having regard to the statement of the Chair of its Delegation for Relations with Iran of 22 September 2022, 9 November 2022 and 13 December 2022,
– having regard to Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2022/2433 of 12 December 2022 implementing Decision 2011/235/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran[3],
– having regard to the statement of 15 January 2023 by the High Representative on behalf of the EU concerning the execution of Mr Alireza Akbari,
– having regard to the European External Action Service (EEAS) statement of 7 January 2023 on the latest executions in Iran,
– having regard to the declaration of 25 September 2022 by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on Iran,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 (ICCPR), which Iran ratified in 1975,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 13 September 2022 a 22-year old Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, was arrested in Tehran by Iran’s ‘morality’ police for an alleged failure to observe the mandatory veiling law; whereas the ‘morality’ police pushed Mahsa Jina Amini into a police van and beat her during her transfer to Vozara detention centre in Tehran, where shortly afterwards she fell into a coma and then died on 16 September 2022;
B. whereas, following the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini, nationwide protests broke out in over 120 cities in almost all of Iran’s 31 provinces; whereas the response of the Iranian security and police forces to the protests has been violent, indiscriminate and unrestrained, and has resulted in substantial loss of life as well as a large number of injuries;
C. whereas Iran has the world’s highest number of executions per capita; whereas the Iranian authorities have issued death sentences for protest-related charges and carried out executions against those who faced charges in connection with the widespread protests, but have failed to conduct any transparent investigations into the serious allegations of the use of excessive and lethal force by security officers against protestors;
D. whereas the Iranian regime continues to execute protesters; whereas on 7 January 2023 Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged; whereas many more are also in serious danger of being executed; whereas on 12 December 2022 Majidreza Rahnavard was the first person to be executed in public;
E. whereas a number of European citizens were arrested in Iran during protests following the death of Mahsa Amini; whereas the detainees are citizens of Poland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands; whereas Iran does not recognise dual nationality, thereby limiting the access that foreign embassies have to their dual nationals held in the country;
F. whereas Iran imposes and carries out the death penalty against minors in contravention of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; whereas the death penalty is disproportionally applied to ethnic and religious minorities, notably the Baluch, Kurds, Arabs and Baha’is;
G. whereas British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death in Iran, has been executed; whereas the ex-deputy Iranian defence minister was arrested in 2019 and convicted of spying for the United Kingdom, which he denied;
H. whereas the EU has had restrictive measures in place against Iran since 2011 in response to violations of human rights, including asset freezes and visa bans for individuals and entities responsible for grave human rights violations and a ban on exports to Iran of equipment that could be used for internal repression or to monitor telecommunications; whereas these measures are updated regularly;
I. whereas the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) summoned Iran’s ambassador Hossein Dehghani on Monday, 9 January 2023, and expressed his abhorrence at the executions;
J. whereas numerous cases of inhumane and degrading conditions in prisons have been reported, particularly in Evin Prison, as well as the lack of adequate access to medical care during detention, in contravention of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
K. whereas Swedish-Iranian national Dr Ahmadreza Djalali, who specialises in emergency medicine and is a scholar at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Italy’s Università del Piemonte Orientale, was arrested on 24 April 2016 by the Iranian security forces; whereas he was sentenced to death on spurious espionage charges in October 2017 following a grossly unfair trial based on a confession extracted under torture; whereas the sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court on 17 June 2018;
L. whereas an innocent Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele was arbitrarily arrested by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) operatives and finally sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes over charges of ‘espionage’, coordinating with the US Government, money laundering and currency smuggling;
M. whereas Amnesty International found evidence of the authorities’ plot to crush current protests ‘at any cost’ by deploying the Revolutionary Guards;
N. whereas the IRGC is included on the EU’s and US sanctions list for their involvement in lethal human rights violations; whereas countries including the United States have designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation;
O. whereas, according to reports, every year 400 to 500 women are brutally murdered in Iran in so-called ‘honour killings’; whereas women and men often face no justice for crimes committed against them in the name of ‘honour’;
1. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of the death penalty in all circumstances;
2. Is appalled by the executions connected with the ongoing protests;
3. Expresses its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all innocent victims;
4. Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop the violent crackdown on protests; expects Iran to clarify the number of arrests, injuries and fatalities; calls for the release of all non-violent protestors and for due process to be guaranteed to all detainees;
5. Condemns in the strongest terms the execution in Iran of Iranian-British national Alireza Akbari;
6. Calls for an immediate moratorium on all death sentences imposed by the Iranian regime;
7. Condemns the detention and persecution of EU citizens in Iran; calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all detained EU nationals and to guarantee a safe return to their country, including the Swedish-Iranian national Dr Ahmadreza Djalali and EU/Belgian citizen Olivier Vandecasteele;
8. Stresses that every violation of human rights in Iran will have to be investigated by independent international experts; demands that the Iranian authorities allow for a swift, evidence-based, impartial and effective investigation into all killings of protesters, and that those responsible be brought to justice;
9. Underlines that the European Union will consider all the options at its disposal to address the killing of Mahsa Amini and the way Iranian security forces have responded to the ensuing demonstrations;
10. Calls for the implementation of targeted and tailored sanctions; calls on the Commission to introduce further sanctions packages targeted at those who are involved in persecutions and executions; highlights that future sanctions must be subject to an assessment that ensures they do not harm Iranian civil society;
11. Calls for the EU to list IRGC as a terrorist entity, following the examples of the United States and other countries;
12. Urges the Iranian authorities to strictly abide by the principles enshrined in international agreements, including the ICCPR, to which Iran is a party;
13. Welcomes the decision of the European Council to adopt new sanctions against Iran, targeting 3 entities and 29 individuals responsible for serious human rights violations in the country during the violent crackdown currently under way;
14. Reiterates its support to Iranian women and men who want to live in a free, stable, inclusive and democratic country that respects its national and international commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms;
15. Strongly condemns the sanctioning of Members of the European Parliament by the Iranian authorities; stresses that as long as European parliamentarians are sanctioned by the authorities, inter-parliamentary dialogue should remain suspended;
16. Stresses that the continuous and grave human rights violations being committed by the Iranian regime against its own people jeopardise the negotiations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action;
17. Reiterates its call on all Member States to jointly make public statements and undertake diplomatic initiatives to monitor unfair trials and visit prisons where human rights defenders and other prisoners of conscience are being detained, including EU nationals in Iran;
18. 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 governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President of Iran, the Government of Iran and the Majlis.
- [1] OJ C 342, 6.9.2022, p. 286.
- [2] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2022)0352.
- [3] OJ L 318I , 12.12.2022, p. 36.