Excerpts of the speech of Franco Frattini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy (2008–2011), at the Free Iran 2022, is as follows:
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen of the resistance against the Iranian regime, it is for me a good opportunity to show and stress once again two points where unfortunately the Iranian regime is again showing its intentions to continue and to aggravate the violation of all the principles of the international rules and legality.
First of all the enrichment of uranium to have, soon they say, a nuclear bomb. Therefore, a minister announced that the process of enrichment of uranium is being accelerated, and they will have soon a nuclear bomb. Why?
Of course, they are taking the opportunity of an international crisis between Russia, Ukraine, and part of the west. And they think thanks to the international crisis, they will continue to try to create of Iran, a superpower in the Middle East to put under threat, with the nuclear threat, in so violating all the principles of nuclear nonproliferation, all the decision taken by the United Nations.
This in itself is another confirmation that they want to use violence as an instrument to regulate international relations. But the point that was more serious, even really totally unacceptable, because it risks to destabilize the entire international legality principles on the protection of human rights, is the recent agreement transformed into a bilateral law between the Kingdom of Belgium and Iran.
Unfortunately, after an Iranian serving from the secret services has been condemned for act of terrorism, and he had been plotting a terrorist attack in Paris, and he has been legally, according to the European and international procedures, in prison. Unfortunately, the Iranians have been starting a secret negotiation with the Kingdom of Belgium.
The terrorist crime of 2018, which was legally condemned. And this international and this bilateral agreement aimed at allowing an exchange, a bilateral exchange between such a terrorist who is in Belgium in prison and two completely innocent people that have been captured in Iran and are detainees. One condemned to death and the other was a simple French tourist.
What is the objective? Is to create a legal instrument that allows to exchange the terrorists in Belgium prison with two foreign prisoners that are unfortunately in the horrible prisons in Iran to accommodate this bilateral situation and this bilateral relationship.
Unfortunately, as you know, the Kingdom of Belgium accepted. The Kingdom of Belgium is one of the founding fathers of European Union. It’s the country that has contributed to create European treaties, to sign and to implement European Convention for Human rights. The United Nations International Convention for the Human Rights And nevertheless, he accepts to create by law a market is not a market of cars. It’s a market of human rights.
This is the horrible violation of all the international principles that protect the life and the dignity of human beings. And this is also a terrible example for all the nondemocratic countries like Iran. But I can mention other countries.
Think about Venezuela or others that one day could take as the example to have similar agreements, similar legislation in that way creating in some countries of the world a market of human rights to try to continue to commit crimes and to escape for the prison, for their compatriots like this terrorist who is now in prison in Belgium. I think this is the confirmation that with the country, with Iran we cannot make a negotiation.
And your resistance, which is growing day by day, has paid a very heavy price. Because we know how many people, your brothers, your sisters, your families have been tortured, have been imprisoned and have been killed without any kind of legal trial.
Our solution should once again make an appeal, first of all to Europe as a whole, how is it possible that the founding father of Europe, Belgium, makes to the world this kind of example to negotiate on the life of a human rights, on the life of human being?
That is exactly what the terrorists, the militias do and what they want to repeat on an international scale. Appeal to Europe, appeal to the United Nations, I think going ahead with the request of an international inquiry to investigate to the current members of Iranian regimes, to their predecessor in having committed crimes and to cancel immediately by bringing before all the international court this Belgium law to be cancelled, cancelled completely. It is what the international legal principle stated. Thank you very much.
