British MP's Call for Response to Iranian Humantarian Abuses   29 Oct 2014

MPs and Peers call for a firm response to Iranian regime's systematic human rights violations and demand protection for the Iranian refugees in Camp Liberty

In a cross party parliamentary conference on Tuesday, October 28, organised by the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF), MPs and Peers from both Houses discussed the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, new wave of public hangings, acid attacks on women and the plight of Iranian refugees in Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Speakers at the conference included Lord Carlile of Berriew QC CBE, Mr Struan Stevenson, Chairman of EP Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Mr David Amess MP, Rt Hon David Jones MP, Rt Hon. Lord Dholakia, Mr Brian Binley MP, Lord Clarke of Hampstead CBE, Mr Mark Williams MP, Mr Mike Hancock MP, Lord Cotter, Ms Dowlat Nowrouzi, UK Representative of NCRI and Malcolm Fowler, member of the Law Society.

During last week, thousands of people defied suppressive security measures by the regime's security forces to take part in demonstrations in various cities of Iran, in particular in Tehran, to protest against the recent wave of acid attacks against Iranian women that have taken over 25 victims. The protesters accused state sponsored security organs of orchestrating these vicious attacks, which follows discussion by the Iranian parliament of a new bill to confront the so called “mal-veiling”.

In another measure signalling increased repression targeting women in Iran, the Iranian rulers executed a 26 year old university student and a designer, Ms. Rayhaneh Jabbari, after spending seven and a half years in prison. Ms Jabbari was hanged on October 25 despite international calls to halt her execution due to serious concerns over the fairness of her trial.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, due to speak on his new human rights report on Iran at the UN later today, noted that Mrs Jabbari's conviction was allegedly based on confessions made while under threat, and the court failed to take into account all evidence into its judgment.

Tobias Ellwood MP, the Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East while expressing concern for Mrs Jabbari's execution and the UK's strong opposition to the use of the death penalty said in his statement: “Actions like these do not help Iran build confidence or trust with the international community. I urge Iran to put a moratorium on all executions”.

Dr Ahmed Shaheed expressed concern about “a surge in executions in the country” over the past year noting that in some cases the victims were put to death clearly for political activities. According to international press, Dr Ahmed Shaheed also notes that the situation of women in Iran has worsened.

Addressing the conference in a message, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, Mrs Maryam Rajavi, thanked the BPCIF for holding this conference in the current difficult situation. While paying tribute to Lord Corbett, Lord Archer, Lord Slynn and Lord Johnston for being pioneers in this battle she thanked the MPs and Peers for standing with the Iranian people and in particular the Iranian opposition members in camps Ashraf and Liberty.

In her message, Mrs Maryam Rajavi, reiterated that the Iranian regime “is the epicentre of terrorism and fundamentalism in the region. All such atrocities that the world is rightly concerned with today, has been committed in Iran during the past 35 years. Over the past few weeks, scores of women were victims of acid attacks in Iran by government-backed thugs under the pretext of improper veiling. There is no such thing as compulsory veiling in Islam and such barbarism must strongly be condemned.”

She added, “The regime’s advances in the region is the result of the policy of appeasement and not its strength. In short, the Iranian regime is the core of the problem and not part of the solution. Any cooperation with the mullahs’ regime in the fight against extremism is like asking the Nazis to help liberate France during World War 2 … In this respect it is vital to adapt a firm policy vis-a-vis the regime on the nuclear issue and ongoing human rights violations in Iran and to recognize the Iranian people's right to overthrow the religious dictatorship and to establish Freedom and Democracy.”

The guest speaker, Mr Struan Stevenson, Chairman of European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq (2009-2014) and the President of European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA), emphasized in his speech to the conference that “the Iranian regime is the foremost cause of the growth and expansion of fundamentalism and extremism in the region and throughout the Islamic World. The international campaign by the United States and the international coalition against ISIS will surely fail unless the Iranian regime is completely ejected from Syria and Iraq. Silence regarding Tehran’s meddling in the region and the activities of the IRGC and its terrorist militias will simply fan the flames of war in the region.”

Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC, the co-chair of the BPCIF, reiterated his support for Mrs Rajavi's 10-point plan for future Iran and said, “the only viable policy to defeat and degrade fundamentalism and extremism in the region is to support progressive and moderate Muslim forces with a declared democratic agenda, like Mrs Rajavi's movement. I invite the government to support Mrs Rajavi and publicly back her 10-point plan as a road-map to end the rule of religious dictatorship in Iran.”

David Amess MP said, “Mrs Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, is absolutely right when she says that 'those responsible for splashing acid on innocent and defenceless women and young girls are undoubtedly traced backed to the office of Khamenei, Supreme Religious Leader of this regime … And I, together with many of my colleagues from the House of Parliament, share her view about the fact that those responsible must be put on trail and punished, not only for these savage attacks but also for three decades of systematic human rights violations.”

Brian Binley MP warned that once again the Iranian regime tries to dupe the west during the ongoing nuclear talks. The chairman of International Parliamentary Campaign in Defence of Ashraf (IPCDA), Brian Binley MP, reiterating on the rights of Camp Liberty residents as Protected Persons under the fourth Geneva Convention said that Camp Liberty must be declared as a refugee camp under the supervision of UNHCR and the inhumane medical blockade against the residents must end.

He added that all oppressive decisions by the Maliki Government taken against the camp residents must be annulled and Camp Liberty’s dossier must be referred to agencies and individuals in the Government of Iraq not acting on the order of the Iranian regime or its affiliated groups.

The Rt Hon. David Jones MP, “I have always been impressed by that in meetings of NCRI, many of participants are women and indeed its leader is a woman, Maryam Rajavi ... Iranian women will not be intimidated by acid attacks. Mrs Rajavi's movement is the anti-thesis to the regime in Iran and its misogynist views on women.”

Referring to the recent acid attacks on women and the rising number of executions in Iran, the Rt Hon. Lord Dholakia said, “Iranian rulers must face justice in international courts for their human rights violations.”

Lord Clarke of Hampstead criticised international community for its silence on human rights violations and said “the world must speak up against human rights abuses in Iran.”

Mark Williams MP said, “we must never lose sight on human rights when talking to Iran on nuclear issue.”

The UK Representative of NCRI, Ms Dowlat Nowrouzi strongly condemned the Iranian regime's terror campaign of acid attacks on women, which has so far victimised 25 women. She thanked the British Parliamentarians for supporting Mrs Rajavi's view on non-compulsory Islamic dress-code and said, “such barbaric acts indicate the clerical regime's fear of Iranian people's discontent and determination of the Camp Liberty residents for exposing the savage nature of Islamic fundamentalism. She stressed, "the only solution is to severely and firmly condemn this regime and refer its human rights dossier to the UN Security Council in order for the leaders of this regime to face justice. It is also vital to eject this regime from Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the Greater Middle East in order to defeat religious extremism and Islamic fundamentalism under other names such as ISIS.”

On the nuclear issue she added that the west should not be duped by this regime and should not accept the extension of nuclear deadline to give the regime the opportunity to buy time for continuing its nuclear weapons project.

ENDS

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