Iran

Tabled by Barbara Lochbihler, Isabelle Durant, Emilie Turunen, Raúl Romeva and Heidi Hautala
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

The European Parliament,

– Having regard to the Council declaration of 10 October 2009 celebrating the seventh World Day and the third European Day Against the Death Penalty

- Having regard to the December 2007 declaration of the United Nations General Assembly calling for the first time in history for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty

- Having regard to the Council declaration of 10 October 2009 expressing its deep concern over reports of the imminent execution of Behnoud Shojaee and Safar Angoti, as well as Reza Padashi and Hossein Haghi, all four convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed as minors

- Having regard to the declaration of the Presidency of the European Union of 20 September 2009, condemning repeated denials by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Holocaust and of the right of the state of Israel to exist

- Having regard to the declaration of the UN Office of the High commissioner for Human Rights, .The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on 13 October 2009, urging Iran s appeal courts to carefully review the death sentences handed down for three people over street unrest following the disputed election in June.

- Having regard to the statement of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 19 October 2009, condemning the weekend suicide attack in the Province of Sistan and Baluchistan in Iran killing at least 42 people in Iran

- Having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party

- Having regard to its previous resolutions

– Having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. Whereas Iran holds the sad leadership of be the country in the world executing the most juvenile offenders and whereas at least 130 juvenile offenders are on death row in Iran according to reports by human rights laywers

B. Whereas on 12 October 2009 Behnoud Shojaee was hanged despite strong national and international pleas to spare his life, the third juvenile offender to be excecuted in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the beginning of 2009 after Delara Darabi and Molla Gol Hassan

C. Whereas seven leaders of the Baha'i faith,  Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm continue to be imprisoned despite being considered prisoners of conscience by international human rights organisations, solely being held on the basis of their religious beliefs

D. Whereas on 4 August President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received formal endorsement for a second term in office after having been declared winner of the elections on June 12

E. Whereas his election rivals Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, as well as numerous observers accused the authorities of large scale falsification of the elections results

F. Whereas in the following weeks and months tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets; whereas - according to official information - 20 people died during clashes, according to unofficial information some 150 people died and more than 1000 demonstrators were arrested

G. Whereas Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman who was shot in the chest during a demonstration in Tehran became the symbol for all those who demand that their vote be taken into account and who felt cheated through the official election result

H. Whereas hearings continue in mass trials for reportedly 140 opposition supporters, including prominent reformers, and activists accused of offences ranging from rioting to spying and seeking to topple Iran's rulers

I Whereas on 9 October Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and two other unnamed individuals have been sentenced to death in connection with protests following the disputed elections

J Whereas according to reports by human rights organisations, dozens of reporters, photographers and bloggers have left Iran or are trying to flee the country, thousands have lost their jobs and numerous newspapers have been closed down by the authorities in recent weeks and 19 journalists and five bloggers are reportedly still being held by the Iranian authorities

K Whereas at least five commanders of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were killed and dozens of other people were left dead and wounded on 17 October 2009 when a suicide bomb attack took place in the Sistan-Baluchistan province

1. disapproves of the election procedure which has resulted in the approval of President Ahmedinejad for a second term of office despite strong indications of massive electoral fraud and considered that the credibility of the Iranian president is seriously faltered

2. reaffirms its absolute opposition to the use of the death penalty and the particular responsibility of all states as the ultimate guarantors of citizens' human rights not to deprive anyone of his or her life; welcomes that 140 states have in the meantime abolished the death penalty; deeply deplores the high number of executions still performed in some countries including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the USA and Iraq

3. welcomes the public debate and the high level of participation of the Iranian people in the 12 June presidential polls despite the limitations in the electoral system as a clear sign of the vibrant Iranian society, and expresses its support for the peaceful post-election demonstrations as positive signs of the vitality of civil and political life

4. strongly condemns the excessive force, arbitrary arrests and alleged torture in the repression of protests over the disputed Iranian presidential elections,

5. deplores the systematic restriction of the freedom of information by blocking websites, banning them from covering unauthorized demonstrations and implementing new restrictions requiring journalists to obtain permission before leaving the office to cover any story

6. calls on companies providing information technology such as Siemens and Nokia to come up with solutions the circumvent that its technology may be used by states to limit the freedom of access for its citizens to the worldwide net and calls on the European Commission to encourage European companies in such efforts

7. calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all those who are being kept solely on the basis of their peaceful protests and their desire to make use of their basis human right to the freedom of expression

8. call on the Iranian authorities to grant access for the International Committee of the Red Cross to all prisoners and to allow international human rights organisations to monitor the situation in the country 

9. calls on the Council and the Member States to put pressure on the U.N. to nominate a Special Envoy to monitor the situation of political detainees and to ensure that Iranian authorities adhere to international due process standards and to Iran's legal human rights obligations

10. expresses its grave sadness that the life of Behnoud Shojaee could not be spared and is relieved that the execution of Abbas Hosseini, also sentenced to death for a crime committed as a minor, scheduled to take place 5 October, was cancelled; remains however seriously concerned that Mr Hosseini remains at imminent threat of execution

11. demands that the Islamic Republic of Iran finally puts an end to the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of eighteen and amends its legislation to bring it in line with the international human rights conventions that Iran has ratified, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

12. call on the Iranian authorities to abolish the death penalty completely and, in the meantime, to establish a moratorium on executions as urged by United Nations General Assembly resolutions 62/149 and 63/168

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.