MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the EU response to ongoing protests and executions in Iran

B9‑0066/2023

European Parliament resolution on the EU response to ongoing protests and executions in Iran

(2023/2511(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

– having regard to the statement of 7 January 2023 by the Spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the latest executions in Iran,

– having regard to the Council conclusions 14 November 2022 on women, peace and security, to the Council conclusions of 12 December 2022 and the additional restrictive measures contained therein and to the Council conclusions of 15 December 2022,

– having regard the declaration by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the European Union of 25 September 2022 and to the statement of the EEAS spokesperson of 19 September 2022 on the death of Mahsa Amini,

– having regard to the EU guidelines of 8 December 2008 on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them,

– having regard to the awarding of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of thought to the Iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi in 2012,

– having regard to the statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 10 January 2023,

– having regard to the statements of 26 October 2022 by the UN Special Rapporteur on effective accountability for the death in recent protests and of 22 September 2022 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, demanding accountability for the death of Mahsa Amini and calling for an end to violence against women,

– having regard to resolution S35/1 of the UN Human Rights Council of 24 December 2022 deciding to establish an independent international fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022 following her arrest and mistreatment by the so-called morality police sparked nationwide protests led by women demanding accountability for the death of Ms Amini and calling for an end to violence and discrimination against women in Iran;

B. whereas the demonstrations have evolved into a Pan-Iranian protest movement demanding far-reaching change – with chants calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic of Iran;

C. whereas the sole response of the Iranian leadership and security forces, in particular the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij paramilitary forces, has been a deadly crackdown on demonstrators and individuals voicing dissent, disproportionately targeting oppressed minority groups such as the Baluchi and Kurds; whereas Iranian officials employ gender-based and sexual violence against women and girls; whereas according to Amnesty International, Iranian security forces unlawfully and deliberately fire live ammunition, outlawed birdshot and other metal pellets directly at protesters, as well using tear gas, water cannons and beatings with batons as means to disperse and intimidate protesters;

D. whereas according to human rights groups, hundreds of peaceful protesters have been killed by the Iranian security forces; whereas according to Human Rights Watch, thousands of protesters have been arrested; whereas thousands of protesters have been officially charged, judged in sham trials and hundreds of them sentenced to death; whereas physical or psychological torture has been used to force detainees into making ‘confessions’ that are broadcast on Iranian state television;

E. whereas in November 2022, 227 of the 290 members of Iran’s Parliament adopted a statement to the judiciary demanding ‘decisive action’ against those protesting;

F. whereas in December 2022, the Iranian regime started executing protesters; whereas on 8 December 2022, 23-year-old protester Mohsen Shekari was executed; whereas on 12 December 2022, 23-year-old Majidreza Rahnavard was publicly executed; whereas on 7 January 2023 Iran hanged 22-year-old Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini; whereas these four persons were hanged for their involvement in the peaceful protests following expedited trials that did not meet the minimum guarantees of a fair trial and due process; whereas according to Amnesty International, the Iranian authorities are currently seeking to impose the death penalty on at least a further 26 individuals;

G. whereas Iranian actors, musicians, athletes and other celebrities have publicly backed the protests against the clerical establishment; whereas in December 2022, the Iranian authorities arrested the Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti after she criticised the state’s use of the death penalty against protesters; whereas she was released on bail in January 2023;

H. whereas on 24 November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council voted to send an independent international fact-finding mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran;

I. whereas in response to mass opposition to the Government and protests, the Iranian regime imposed extensive internet shutdowns that drastically limited all digital communication in the country; whereas a consortium of digital rights groups has proved that the Iranian Government has been deploying an increasingly broad set of technical capabilities to make it more difficult for the population to circumvent digital restrictions;

J. whereas the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini is illustrative of the ongoing human rights crisis and the structural gender-based violence against women in Iran perpetuated by the systemic impunity of the Iranian Government and its security apparatus, which has permitted widespread torture, as well as extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings;

K. whereas many women human rights defenders have been arrested, sentenced and imprisoned in recent years because of their long-term peaceful work to promote women’s human rights;

L. whereas the EU has adopted restrictive measures related 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 which might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications;

M. whereas in the Council conclusions of November and December 2022 the EU imposed restrictive measures on 60 individuals and eight entities in Iran who are responsible for the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and the relentless crackdown on Iranian protesters;

N. whereas in response to Iran’s sanctions on Members of the European Parliament, in November 2022 Parliament decided that its delegations and committees will no longer engage with the Iranian authorities;

1. Expresses its full solidarity with the people of Iran and the peaceful protest movement across the country that is raising its voice against the systematic oppression of women and all dissenting people and against a government that brutally nips political resistance in the bud, weaponises the death penalty to silence its population and discriminates against ethnic groups and religious minorities; considers that the protests are an expression of the Iranian people’s profound discontent with a deeply corrupt government and a violent, theocratic and secretive state;

2. Condemns in the strongest terms the violent arrest, abuse and ill-treatment of Jina Mahsa Amini by Iranʼs ‘morality’ police, leading to her death; condemns the Iranian authorities’ failure to properly investigate the circumstances of Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and to hold those responsible for her killing accountable;

3. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the unrestrained and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian police and security forces against the peaceful protest movement, causing the death of hundreds of innocent people and leaving hundreds injured; is appalled by the killing of hundreds of peaceful protesters in Iran;

4. Is appalled by the sentencing and execution of Mohsen Shekari, Majidreza Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini for their participation in the protests; denounces the arrest, detention, torture and sentencing of protesters after grossly unfair trials that do not meet the minimum international standards that Iran is bound by;

5. Calls on the Iranian authorities to without delay annul the recent death penalty sentences that have already been pronounced in the context of the ongoing protests and to provide due process to all detainees; demands that the Iranian authorities ensure that those who are in any form of detention or imprisoned are not subjected to any form of mistreatment;

6. Reiterates the EU’s firm and principled opposition to the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances;

7. Urges the Iranian Government to halt the violent crackdown on the protests immediately and to launch independent investigations into the killings of protesters; recalls that peaceful assembly is enshrined in Article 21 of the ICCPR, to which Iran is a party;

8. Demands that the Iranian authorities immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against anyone who is imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in connection with the protests; is deeply concerned about the arrest of more than 80 media workers, including Niloofar Hamedi, the journalist who first broke the news about Jina Mahsa Amini’s arrest and hospitalisation, and calls on the Iranian authorities to free them without delay;

9. Condemns the internet disruption and shutdowns imposed by the Iranian authorities and urges the Iranian Government to immediately restore full internet and communications access across the country and to cease any disruption, blocking or restrictions on the Iranian people’s ability to communicate and access information freely and safely; stresses that restricting internet access and disrupting messaging services breaches and seriously interferes with people’s right to freedom of expression and assembly, as enshrined in the ICCPR, to which Iran is a party;

10. Condemns the Iranian Government’s systematic discrimination against women through laws and regulations that severely restrict their freedoms, lives and livelihoods; is particularly concerned about the degrading compulsory veiling law and its abusive enforcement; holds the view that it is women’s right to autonomously decide on their clothing; encourages the Iranian Government to make use of the country-wide protests as a window of opportunity to repeal laws that impose compulsory veiling on women and girls, and to abolish the ‘morality’ police which enforces these abusive and discriminatory laws;

11. Urges the Iranian Government to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders who have been imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and belief; asks the Iranian Government to cease its targeting of all human rights defenders in Iran and to guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free from all restrictions, including judicial harassment; calls on the Iranian Government to treat prisoners with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings;

12. Welcomes the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran; calls on the Iranian leadership to allow the mission’s experts and staff to enter the country and collect evidence without any government interference;

13. Calls on the Iranian authorities to extend a standing invitation to visits 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 the Islamic Republic of Iran is allowed to enter the country;

14. Asks High Representative Borrell and all senior EU and Member State representatives to publicly and privately demand an immediate end to the execution of protesters, a halt to the violent crackdown against protesters and the unconditional release of all those arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly; encourages the EU and its Member States to reach out to the United Nations and Iran’s neighbouring countries to urge them to join diplomatic and political forces to exert pressure on Iran in order to prevent further executions;

15. Welcomes the Council decision to impose restrictive measures on 60 Iranian individuals and entities deemed responsible for the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters; calls on the European Council to expand the targeted measures against all senior figures in the Iranian Government and security apparatus associated with the violent crackdown, arrests and execution of peaceful protesters, starting with the President of Iran, Ibrahim Raisi, as well as the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf; calls on the European Council to add all members of the Iranian Parliament that supported a call for ‘decisive action’ against protesters to the EU restrictive measures list;

16. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Council to classify IRGC as a terror organisation while ensuring that the negative consequences of this measure for EU humanitarian and development aid and for Iranian conscripts within and outside the country and other implications do not outweigh the political and security advantages of the listing;

17. Calls on the EEAS, the Commission and the Member States to increase support for protesters in Iran who need to leave the country, including through rapid access to visas and asylum as well as emergency grants under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe and the European Endowment for Democracy; calls on the EEAS to reach out to Iran’s immediate neighbours to ensure that border crossings remain open to activists fleeing Iran and to ensure that these individuals can safely apply for asylum in Europe from these countries;

18. Calls on the EU and its Member States to put concrete measures in place for protecting the Iranian diaspora in the EU, including promoting an open space for debate and diverging opinions;

19. Calls on the EEAS and the Member States to find avenues for providing technical and capacity support to those helping Iranian civil society while ensuring Iranian ownership of these activities;

20. Calls on the Commission to consider, under strict compliance with the principles of necessity and proportionality, allowing EU-based communications providers to offer tools, including videoconferencing, e-learning platforms, web maps and cloud services, to people in Iran in order to ensure that they have access to the online tools and platforms they need to exercise their human rights;

21. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to engage with the UN and make all means available to support the preparation and visit of the independent fact-finding mission to Iran; calls on High Representative Borrell to urge the Iranian authorities to allow the entry of the UN independent fact-finding mission to Iran;

22. Calls on the EEAS and Member States to continue holding the Iranian regime accountable for the killing of its own people and grave human rights violations;

23. 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 Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.