Kimmo Sasi, Former MP and Minister, From Finland, addressed a webinar by European lawmakers on October 7, 2020, on the human rights situation in Iran.

Online Conference held under title, “Iran’s Ongoing Crimes Against Humanity, EU’s political and moral obligations”. The online event was on October 7, 2020. Dozens of members of the European Parliament attended and spoke at the conference.

MEPs made their remarks in order to condemn the horrific human rights violations witnessed on a daily basis across Iran. In addition, MEPs called on the European Union to fulfill its moral and political obligations in the face of human rights violations in Iran. They called for a firm policy by the European Union against the mullah regime in Iran. Also, they pointed out, It is high time to stand alongside the Iranian people and support their justified aspirations for a free, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI), was the keynote speaker at this conference. Her message welcomed as a democratic solution to Iran’s future. Mrs. Rajavi’s ten-point plan has widespread support from the majority of MEPs for a long time.

Kimmo Sasi, Former MP and Minister, From Finland

Thank you so very much indeed, Madame Rajavi, dear friends of human rights.

Iran is a great country. She has very proud history and excellent culture. In fact, the country should be very rich because she has a lot of oil, but that’s not the truth of today. Today, Iranian people are the hostess of the worst dictatorship in the world. Because of the corruption, many people live in hunger, and the country is isolated because it exports terrorism. The history shows there’s a clear path to prosperity. Europe learned after World War II that we have to trust in certain values, which are democracy, human rights, rule of law, market economy, and also the equality between men and women. If you go on this path, you will be successful.

Iranian people protest today because of the terrible conditions in the country. That is why the dictatorship in Iran is very afraid. They know what happened in Eastern Europe late 1980s, when people took the power in their own hands. The Iranian dictatorship is desperate at the moment and that is why they try to crush their own people. It’s a very bad thing that this means that protesters have been killed, murdered, and many of them sit in the prison at the moment.

Navid has been mentioned today several times. He was hanged a few days ago. The fact is that Iranian authorities tortured Navid for weeks. In a smuggled letter, he described how for 50 days he was beaten with sticks and batons on his arms, buttocks, and back, and had a plastic back over his head until he was almost suffocated. And finally, he was executed. He was murdered. This single case is a hero of people.

What must be done? We need economic sanctions. But then, when you put economic sanctions, of course, you have to try to take care that there’s no black trade that’s used by the dictatorship and the corruption. Then we need also personal sanctions. There must be sanctions against those people who are leaving the country and who have been involved in the murdering of the people. It means their money abroad must be frozen and if they ever come outside the borders of Iran, they must be seized, they must be brought into the court of law, and they must be sentenced for their crimes.

Unfortunately, many Iranian diplomats as well have been engaged with terrorism. It means the European Union member countries must look how many diplomats Iran can have in their own countries. There must be thorough surveillance. I think Iran must not have that many diplomats in our countries because of the terrorism.

One thing that the European diplomats must do in Iran is they must go to the prisons, look after the demonstrators, try to protect them, help them, and make their cases very well-known to try to save their lives. What’s very important as well is that there is an investigation to all mass murders. Very important is the murdering of many people in 1988. Those who are guilty must be brought in front of the court.

Finally, there is only one way that can really solve the situation and that is that the Iranian people take their own faith in their own hands. We need a change of the government, change of the regime in Iran. That is the only durable solution. Thank you. The fight continues.