European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations

HRANA News Agency – The Iranian blogger Sattar Behesht was arrested and tortured to death by Iran’s cyber-police known also as Fata. Sattar Behesht had been accused that he was acting against the national security. The European Parliament published yesterday a new resolution on human rights situation in Iran.

The European Parliament urges the Iranian authorities to conduct a new investigation into the exact circumstances of Behesht’s death and demands exemplary punishment for perpetrators. Furthermore, the resolution condemns the use of corporate violence and the use of the death penalty in Iran and calls on the authorities to “institute a moratorium on executions pending the abolition of the death penalty, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 and 63/138”. The Iranian Government must submit reports with statistics on the death penalty cases and guarantee that it would provide legal support to all detainees. 

The resolution calls on the Iranian authorities to set free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, including Sakharov Prize winners Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi. All the prisoners must have access to legal support and medical care. Iran must accept and facilitate peaceful protests and respect religious freedom. The European Parliament forces the Iranian authorities to collaborate with the international community in order to improve the human rights situation in the country and allow the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed to visit the country.

All the EU political bodies must re-engage the Iranian government in a human rights dialogue. EU must continue its dual track approach to Iran, which combines sanctions with diplomacy. Concretely, the Council must take immediate actions against individuals and entities that are responsible for or involved in human rights violations.