Dec 31 2019

In an article in The Scotsman, Struan Stevenson, president of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) and former Member of the European Parliament, slammed the international community’s inaction vis-a-vis the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on the Iran protests.

Mr. Stevenson started his article with this question: “We who uphold human rights and revere the rights of women; we who honor freedom and justice and cherish democracy, what can we make of the carnage unfolding in Iran?”

“During the nationwide uprising that has largely been ignored in the Western press, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and its so-called ‘moderate’ President Hassan Rouhani have ordered a shoot-to-kill policy that has seen masked snipers on the roofs of government buildings, indiscriminately shooting unarmed, young protesters in the head and chest,” he added.

“IRGC thugs and security agents have scoured the country’s hospitals, dragging the wounded from their beds. While the fate of those imprisoned remains largely unknown, there are many reports of protesters being tortured to death,” he added while referring to numerous cases of human rights abuses by the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

“Hamid Sheikhani, 35, was arrested on 17 November in Mahshahr County, Khuzestan. His family heard no news until 23 November, when they were asked to collect his body from prison. On the same day, 30-year-old Kaveh Veisani was arrested in Sanandaj. His dead body, which showed signs of torture, was found in the city’s suburbs on 15 December. He had a toddler and left a pregnant wife,” Mr. Stevenson wrote.

“Seventeen-year-old Arvin Ranin was arrested by the IRGC in Marivan and was reportedly tortured to death. His family had to pay to have his body returned. Halimeh Saimiri was arrested during the protests in Abadan. She was tortured to death by the IRGC, who later threw her lifeless body outside her father’s house,” Mr. Stevenson added.

While referring to the origins of the Iran protests, Mr. Stevenson said: “The uprising was triggered by the regime’s decision to triple the price of gas. This was the last straw for a nation whose citizens have been impoverished by the venally corrupt regime that for 40 years has stolen Iran´s wealth for the benefit of its rulers and to wage proxy wars across the Middle East, in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq.”

“That is why many protests involved arson attacks on banks and other institutions related to the IRGC and the security forces. That is why the protesters have chanted on the streets: ‘Forget Syria, what about us?’ Indeed, the current uprising raging across the country has taken on a new and uniquely political dimension, with young protesters demanding regime change and calling for the ousting of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, chanting ‘The enemy is here; they are lying when they say it is America,” he added.

“The international community cannot continue to treat the theocratic regime in Iran as a normal nation-state. The belligerent, repressive and vicious behavior of the regime proves that attempts at negotiation or appeasement are pointless. The ayatollahs have committed appalling crimes against humanity that require an immediate response from the international community, involving, at the very least, a UN fact-finding mission to establish the truth about the numbers killed and injured and to ascertain the treatment of those imprisoned. The UN must hold those responsible for these crimes accountable in the international courts of justice. There can be no impunity for those guilty of such chilling atrocities. The West must show support for the oppressed Iranian millions, who now look to the UN Security Council for urgent help,” Mr. Stevenson concluded.

Source » ncr-iran