With EP Vice Presidents, joint presidents and vice presidents of the Friends of a Free Iran Committee (FOFI)
Brussels, May 24, 2023: Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), entered the European Parliament in Brussels to a warm welcome of a group of European Parliament members. She participated in the conference “Iran: Prospects for Change and EU Policy”.
In this conference, chaired by Mr. Javier Zarzalejos, the joint chair of the Friends of a Free Iran in the European Parliament, Mrs. Rajavi called for an international campaign to stop executions in Iran.
Dozens of MEPs from various political groups and countries participated in this conference, and 15 of them delivered a speech. They expressed support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran and endorsed Mrs. Rajavi’s 10-point plan.
Mrs. Rajavi said: “I have come here today to call for an international campaign to stop executions in Iran.
The mullahs’ regime has started a new and unprecedented wave of executions. At least 116 prisoners have been executed since the beginning of May, i.e., one execution every 5 hours. Three young protesters, detained and tortured for months in Isfahan, were executed last Friday.
The regime uses executions to prevent an uprising. Despite massive repression, however, people protested these brutal executions. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a lack of action from the European Union and its member states. Isn’t opposing the death penalty one of the well-known principles of the European Union? So why when it comes to Iran, economic interests and political considerations downplay the importance of human rights situation.
I am here today to be the voice of the protesters in Iran, especially women, who have risen-up against religious dictatorship. The message is that the Iranian people have risen to overthrow the religious fascism. They reject tyranny in all its forms and will persist in their fight until they achieve freedom and democracy.
The Iranian Resistance’s platform is based on a republic, separation of religion and state, full individual and social freedoms, gender equality, autonomy for ethnic nationalities, elimination of the death penalty, independent judiciary, free market, dissolving the IRGC, a non-nuclear Iran, and international and regional coexistence and cooperation.
At the center of this alternative is the MEK, which believes in democratic Islam and advocates for the separation of religion and state. This resistance represents the anti-thesis of the religious dictatorship.”
In addition, 15 MEPs from various political groups delivered a speech.
Ms. Anna Fotyga, a Member of the European Parliament, and the Secretary-General of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party and former Polish foreign minister, said: “The vision of a secular, democratic state has long been a dream of Iranians, those who died in the 1988 massacre and those who protest for years now. We need to know that about 80 percent of Iranian business is owned by IRGC. Tehran supplies the Russian Federation with drones to kill civilians in Ukraine. I call on the international community to extend sanctions against Iran.”
Stanislav Polčak, a member of the EPP group, stressed the need for the European Parliament’s support in establishing a democratic and secular republic in Iran. He described the National Council of Resistance as the sole active opposition to the current regime. Ivan Štefanec, another EPP MEP, expressed his belief that, under Maryam Rajavi’s leadership, the people of Iran are closer than ever to attaining their freedom. He cautioned against appeasing the regime, citing historical lessons that demonstrate the futility of such actions in the face of fascism.
Ryszard Czarnecki, from the ECR group, condemned those who continue to engage in business as usual with the Iranian regime, highlighting their responsibility in supplying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Jan Zahradil, also from the ECR, warned against politicians in the EU and the US who remain comfortable with the status quo and still believe they can strike deals with the regime.
Furthermore, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in front of the European Parliament to express their support for a free and democratic Iran ‘With Maryam Rajavi‘. They also express their solidarity with the ongoing Iranian Revolution.
