New York/The Hague/Kuala Lumpur/Ottawa/Male

On 13 November, the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued its first death sentence of individuals that have taken part in protests after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. The Iranian judiciary has announced[1] that more than 750 individuals, including children, could be charged with participating in protests, and be sentenced to death. In an obvious violation of the principle of the separation of powers, this announcement took place after 227 members of the Iranian Parliament, publicly demanded that all such individuals be executed by the judiciary.[2]

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), the largest network of individual lawmakers from all regions of the world, calls for an immediate cessation of all policies and practices adopted by the Iranian regime to repressing the fundamental rights of peaceful protestors chanting “women, life, freedom.”  PGA strongly condemns the use of the capital punishment as a tool of Government repression by Iran and by all countries of the world.

PGA Board Member Mr. Ali Ehsassi, MP (Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, House of Commons, Canada) issued the following statement on behalf of the organization:

Mr. Ali Ehsassi

MP (Canada)

The time has come for the theocratic regime of Iran to allow civil society to demand respect for their most fundamental rights, and for their human rights to be respected and their dignity to be upheld. The Islamic Republic must immediately cease terrorizing its citizens and put an end to the mass atrocities it is committing by targeting Iranians who are merely expressing their desire for political freedom. The Islamic Republic must uphold the legal obligations recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran has been a contracting party since 1975. The full implementation of the ICCPR will ensure that the people of Iran may exercise their inalienable civil and political rights, which are preconditions for the Rule of Law and democratic order.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, the crackdown on peaceful Iranian protesters has included arbitrary detention, torture, gender-based and sexual violence, and enforced disappearances. To date, the most conservative estimates suggest that approximately 15,000 individuals have been arrested in the last two months, of which 321 have been killed, including over 50 children. Such allegations, including murder and extermination, regard prohibited acts that may amount to crimes against humanity under customary International Law should it be determined that such practices were part of a widespread or systematic attack by the Iranian Government directed against civilians.

PGA Board Member Hon. Rozaina Adam, MP (Maldives), Convenor of PGA’s Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign and Chair of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team, launched a forceful appeal in support of the call for freedom and democracy by Iranian women:

Hon. Rozaina Adam

(Maldives)

The women of Iran and all the protesters who courageously manifested their ideas over the past two months, at the risk of their life, want to live in a society where everyone is equal before the law. Their demand that their human rights be universally recognized and respected shall prevail. The world must unite and show full solidarity in support of their demands against an oppressive regime that has perpetrated brutal acts against its own people.

PGA’s President, Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP (Malaysia), who has been campaigning for years for the abolition of the death penalty in her country and elsewhere, recalled that:

Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP

(Malaysia)

it is the duty of the international community as a whole to take the most effective measures aimed at deterring the execution of hundreds of innocent persons in Iran. This horrific scenario shows how the death penalty can be used as a tool to silence the voices of dissent: PGA stands firm on defending the right to life and civil liberties for all. PGA calls for the imposition of targeted sanctions that would impede the Iranian elite in government from accessing any financial service or benefit. We also call on States to activate their universal jurisdiction over cases of crimes against humanity by investigating and prosecuting those most responsible for the atrocities that we are witnessing in Iran. Rather than imposing symbolic travel bans, international strategies should aim at incriminating these individuals and facilitating their travel to the countries where their impunity can end through fair and effective trials. Perpetrators of the severe human rights violations in Iran may include members of the Judiciary who may be imposing the death penalty, motivated by political reasons. To stand in solidarity with Iranian citizens, PGA calls upon relevant public and private actors to facilitate Internet access for all via satellite Internet systems and to offer other technological means that could help the protesters to continue their nonviolent campaign in all provinces and cities of Iran.