Written declaration No. 649 | Doc. 14473 | 22 January 2018

Iran protests

Signatories: Mr Nigel EVANS, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Jean-Charles ALLAVENA, Monaco, NR ; Mr Francesco Maria AMORUSO, Italy, FDG ; Ms Iwona ARENT, Poland, EC ; Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Marek AST, Poland, EC ; Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr José CEPEDA, Spain, SOC ; Mr Vannino CHITI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Vernon COAKER, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Telmo CORREIA, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Paolo CORSINI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Olivier DESTREBECQ, Belgium, ALDE ; Mr Sergio DIVINA, Italy, FDG ; Mr Petter EIDE, Norway, UEL ; Ms Annicka ENGBLOM, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Adele GAMBARO, Italy, FDG ; Mr Roman HAIDER, Austria, NR ; Mr István HOLLIK, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Mariia IONOVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Grzegorz JANIK, Poland, EC ; Mr Serhii KIRAL, Ukraine, EC ; Mr František KOPŘIVA, Czech Republic, NR ; Mr Florian KRONBICHLER, Italy, SOC ; Mr Ertuğrul KÜRKÇÜ, Turkey, UEL ; Mr Saša MAGAZINOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC ; Ms Miroslava NĚMCOVÁ, Czech Republic, EC ; Mr Miroslav NENUTIL, Czech Republic, SOC ; Mr Bernard PASQUIER, Monaco ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Birgir THÓRARINSSON, Iceland, NR ; Mr Andrzej WOJTYŁA, Poland, EC ; Mr Leonid YEMETS, Ukraine, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

We are deeply concerned by the suppression of anti-government protests in Iran since December 2017, including reports that at least 50 demonstrators were killed, some in detention under torture, and 8 000 were arbitrarily arrested for exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest. A judiciary official has publicly called for the execution of demonstrators for ‘waging war against God’.

The human rights situation has deteriorated in the wake of recent protests. Iran has the highest number of executions per capita globally. The culture of impunity must end.

We condemn the use of force against the defenceless protesters and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.

We call on the member States of the Council of Europe and other relevant international organisations to take urgent action for the immediate release of detained protesters and to determine the status of those who are missing.

We call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up a fact-finding mission to investigate the situation of Iran’s prisons and political prisoners, especially those arrested during the recent uprising and those killed in detention.