Reported by MPOI/MEK
Nov. 19, 2018 – 150 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have come together to sign a statement opposing the Iranian clerical regime’s human rights abuses and violent attempted terror attacks.
The MEPs from 27 European states and six different political parties voiced their concerns over the plight of the Iranian public and members of the Iranian opposition living abroad. Among the signatories were four former Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament and 14 Chairs of European committees and delegations.
Their statement reads, “we are very worried about the deteriorating situation of human rights and repression of women in Iran”.
Violent and Bloody Punishments
The signatories cited Iran’s widespread use of capital punishment as one such example of the regime’s human rights abuses. Their statement said, “the country has maintained the highest number of executions in the world per capita during the presidency of the so-called ‘moderate’ Hassan Rouhani”.
Iran is responsible for more than half of all executions on earth. Under Hassan Rouhani the number of executions has surged. The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) reported that under the current president 3,602 executions have taken place.
Eliminating the Political Opposition
The MEPs also drew attention to the regime’s violent campaign targeting the MEK and members of the Iranian opposition.
Tehran and the regime leadership have been responsible for coordinating a series of terrorist attacks against MEK members living abroad. The most recent plot saw a Belgian-Iranian couple attempt to detonate a car bomb at the MEK’s annual Gran Gathering in Paris. The plot was foiled in the final stages, but it drew international condemnation from the international community, including former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.
In another plot, the Iranian regime attempted to assassinate an opponent in Denmark. Two Iranian regime agents were also apprehended before they could execute a violent attack on the MEK members living in exile in Albania earlier this year.
The statement from the MEPs called the regime’s plots a “new wave of terrorism” and condemned any planned terror attacks on foreign soil.
Holding Those Responsible to Account
In the wake of the foiled terror attacks, the French government expelled an Iranian diplomat and froze assets belonging to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). However, beyond these gestures, there has been a muted response from the European community.
The 150 MEPs addressed the need to change this. Their statement read, “the EU’s silence in the face of brutal human rights violations in Iran and lack of any response to the serious terror plots in Europe is unacceptable”.
The MEPs concluded that Europe must take a firmer stance. They said, “we must hold the Iranian regime accountable for its terror plots and expel Iranian Intelligence Ministry operatives from Europe”, adding, “we must also condition our relations with Iran to an improvement of human rights and women’s rights, and a halt to executions”.
MEP Gérard Deprez, the chair of Europe’s Friends of a Free Iran, added in a statement from Brussels that “human rights in Iran cannot be compromised or marginalized on the excuse of political considerations, trade or the nuclear deal”.
The statement represents the latest step in Europe’s gradual end to a policy of appeasement towards the mullahs. However, for the statement to truly be effective, it must lead
