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En En Motion for a Resolution EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2009 - 2014 Session document 6.9.2010 B7-0497/2010 MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure on Human rights in Iran – in particular the cases of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zahra Bahrami Frédérique Ries, Marietje Schaake, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Marielle De Sarnez, Alexander Alvaro, Renate Weber, Leonidas Donskis, Niccolò Rinaldi, Sonia Alfano on behalf of the ALDE Group RE\829741EN.doc PE446.580v01-00 EN United in diversityEN B7-0497/2010 European Parliament resolution on Human rights in Iran – in particular the cases of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zahra Bahrami The European Parliament, – having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, in particular those concerning human rights, – having regard to the TFEU and the constitutions of EU Member States, – having regard to the statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, of 6 July 2010 on the imminent executions in Iran, – having regard to the open letter of 7 July 2010, addressed to the Iranian Government on the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, published in The Times and which President Buzek co-signed, – having regard to the joint statement by the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue of June 2010, on human rights in Iran, – having regard to the case of Zahra Bahrami, a Dutch-Iranian citizen, imprisoned in solitary in Evin Prison for more than eight months, – having regard to the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, facing the death penalty for allegedly having committed adultery, on death row since 2006, – having regard to President Buzek’s declaration on 11 August 2010 on the sentencing of seven religious Baha'i leaders in Iran to 20 years in prison, – having regard to the statement by its President of 9 October 2009 reiterating Parliament’s commitment to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, – having regard to the report of the UN Secretary-General of 23 September 2009 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, – having regard to United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 of 18 December 2007 and 63/168 of 18 December 2008 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, – having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to all of which Iran is a party, – having regard to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations of 1963, PE446.580v01-00 2/5 RE\829741EN.doc EN – having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure, A. whereas the general human rights situation in Iran has continued to deteriorate, B. whereas the European Parliament is particularly concerned by the cases of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zahra Bahrami, C. whereas Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian Azeri woman, has been on death row in Iran since 2006, D. whereas her controversial case became known internationally in 2010, after she was allegedly convicted for the crime of adultery and sentenced to execution by stoning, E. whereas execution by stoning was restored in 1979, during the time of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, and is considered barbaric and is the last existing torture method of execution, F. whereas experts consider that 200 to 300 women were executed by stoning following sentences by the Iranian judicial system since 1979, G. whereas execution by stoning is also practised in Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, H. whereas a campaign by her two children succeeded in halting Mohammadi Ashtiani's execution in July 2010, but not in overturning her death sentence, I. whereas Zahra Bahrami, 45, a Dutch-Iranian citizen was arrested during the Ashura protests of 27 December 2009, and has been kept in a solitary confinement in Evin Prison for more than eight months and has been denied visiting rights, J. whereas the Iranian authorities have allowed no consular assistance to Zahra Bahrami by Dutch authorities, and have not provided for any information about her wellbeing, K. whereas it is the EU Member States’ constitutional responsibility to provide for the wellbeing of their citizens, L. whereas EU Member States’ governments seek contact with their citizens in foreign prisons regardless of the crimes committed, M. whereas countless European citizens have dual, Iranian, nationality, N. whereas Iran does not recognise European citizenship besides Iranian citizenship, O. whereas the main charge against Zahra Bahrami is that she has acted against the national security of Iran; whereas no lawyer has been assigned to defend her case, P. whereas during the first months of her imprisonment her family was provided with no information on her case, Q. whereas both Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zahra Bahrami have likely been sexually harassed and physically and psychologically tortured during lengthy interrogations; RE\829741EN.doc 3/5 PE446.580v01-00 EN whereas intelligence interrogators tried to force the prisoners to make false confessions and give televised interviews, R. whereas the violation of basic human rights in the form of the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, clandestine detention, the application of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, physical abuse including sexual violence, and impunity for State agents all continue to be widespread, S. whereas the sentences against the representatives of the Baha'i faith are a shocking signal and an immense disappointment for all who have hoped for an improvement of the human rights situation in Iran, T. whereas there are strong doubts regarding the fairness and transparency of the judicial procedure, U. whereas the violent physical, economic, political, legal and social repression of political opponents, human rights activists, journalists, bloggers, teachers, intellectuals, academics, homosexuals, women, students, trade unionists and members of religious, ethnic and language minorities continues to increase, V. whereas restrictions on freedom of the press and expression continue to grow, as illustrated by the number of journalists and bloggers arrested in the aftermath of the election, the systematic blocking of Internet media and information sources, the interference with satellite broadcasting and the confiscation of the passports of several prominent Iranian journalists, W. whereas people who have been accused of committing crimes have been associated with the political opposition in Iran, and people in political opposition has been associated with committing crimes by Iran’s judiciary, as to equate political opposition with crime, X. whereas the international community can not verify the respect for suspects’ human rights, the application of a fair trial, access to a lawyer due to the total isolation of the country, Y. whereas the Iranian Government has arrested numerous human rights lawyers, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammed Ali Dadkah, Mohammad Oliayifard, Mohammad Seifzadeh, and, Mohammad Mostafei, who was forced to flee the country during his defence of Sakineh Ashtiani, Z. whereas tax laws are abused to prevent human rights lawyers from doing their work 1. Pays tribute to the courage of all those Iranian men and women fighting for the defence of fundamental freedoms, respect for their human rights and democratic principles and wish to live in a society free from repression and intimidation; 2. Urges the Iranian Government to reconsider Ms Ashtiani’s and Ms Bahrami’s cases, grant them a fair trial according to international standards, and allow access to a lawyer and to consular assistance; PE446.580v01-00 4/5 RE\829741EN.doc EN 3. Calls on the Iranian Government to immediately enact legislation that bans stoning and other forms of the death penalty, flogging or imprisonment for those convicted of ‘adultery’ or other crimes and to reinstall a moratorium on executions, as urged by UN General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 and 63/168; 4. Urges the Iranian authorities to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to uphold due process of law and end impunity for human rights violations; 5. Deeply deplores the lack of fairness and transparency of the judicial process and calls on the Iranian authorities to guarantee fair an open appeal procedure; 6. Calls on the EU representatives and the High Representative to re-engage in a human rights dialogue with Iran; 7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Human Rights Council and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran. RE\829741EN.doc 5/5 PE446.580v01-00 EN.
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