On July 1, 2024, at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit – Day 3 hosted at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) headquarters in Paris, former Portuguese MEP Paulo Casaca delivered a passionate speech.
Reflecting on his two-decade journey advocating for freedom and democracy in Iran, Casaca recounted the initial gathering in June 2003 to celebrate the release of Madam Rajavi, describing it as one of the most significant human rights campaigns of his life. He praised the Iranian people’s courage in resisting fascism and expressed confidence in Rajavi’s leadership to liberate Iran.
1. Former MEP @paulocasaca1 Hails Madam Rajavi's Leadership and Calls for International Pressure on Iran to Cease Harassment of Prisoners #MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024 https://t.co/XeX6TLz1kr
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) July 1, 2024
A refined version of Paulo Casaca’s speech follows:
Dear Madam Rajavi, dear speakers, personalities, dear Iranians, those who are there in the back, those who are in Ashraf 3,
Thank you very much for allowing me once again to be among you. If I recall correctly, it’s the 21st time, since June 17th, 2003, when we first gathered here to celebrate the release and freedom of Madam Rajavi, who had been the victim of an absolutely inadmissible process, being the victim of a trade between the Iranian fascist authorities and the French government.
— Paulo Casaca (@paulocasaca1) June 27, 2024
This was perhaps the human rights campaign I’ve been most involved in, heart and soul, in my life. I was absolutely outraged. I was in the European Parliament, and I could not stop until I got the news. This was one of the happiest moments of my life, and I’m very, very happy that you are there, that the Iranian people can count on you, because I am certain you will be the leader in Tehran, and you will coronate the liberation of the Iranian people.
And let me tell you that I, of course, remember Jean Pierre Bequet, who was the mayor at that time already, and at that time, I don’t recall many personalities. I do recall Mélenchon, who was the spokesperson for foreign affairs at the Socialist Party here in France. He was here. I remember hearing his speech, but we did not find so many people, or such a high level of support, and this is due to you. You deserve all the congratulations. And the Iranian people deserve it. And the Iranian people deserve all the applause for their courage to resist Iranian fascism.
Lastly, by ignoring the presidential charade of last Friday, let me underline a point that was already made by Lars, very well. We have to praise, fundamentally, the prisoners. I know that the prisoners of Wards 4, 6, and 8 of Evin Prison refused to participate in this charade, and they are now being targeted by the authorities with reprisals.
They refused, and they deserve all our support. We have to call on the international community, our governments, to write to Tehran and say stop arresting the prisoners who refused to participate in this charade. This is an urgency that we all have to commit ourselves to. Today, we are dominated by the legal issue of human rights. I created a human rights association from the very start, even before politics. I was very much involved in human rights at the time.
In Amnesty International, I think it is a fundamental issue. We must understand something: there is an institutional pillar made by the Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations, a mechanism reintroduced in 2011 that is the crux of the matter.
This is the mechanism and the people we must support. Iran was very fortunate to have had three outstanding rapporteurs: Ahmed Shaheed, from the Maldives, a fantastic person; Asma Jahangir, whom I had the opportunity to know. She died in very tragic circumstances and interrupted her mandate. We should remember her as one of the bravest defenders of Iranian human rights.
Now we have the present rapporteur, Javaid Rehman, who has had the courage to denounce the genocide of 1988. This is absolutely outstanding. I have been reading his report, over 500 pages, available on the internet. It’s not very easy to find, but it exists, and it is outstanding.
This pillar is fundamental. It must be defended and continued because it will be, in my opinion, the most important pillar to confront the regime in Tehran from the outside.
A small note: I am an economist by profession, although I have been mostly connected with politics and human rights. Regarding economics, we must see something very important: the logic of outsourcing of the Iranian regime, both for terrorism—they now hire criminal drug gangs to shoot their opponents.
They have been doing this lately, as we know, with our dear colleague Alejo Vidal Quadras, and also for the disinformation campaign. They hire pseudo-independent organizations with multi-financing based in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere to tarnish the image of the Iranian opposition.
We must keep a good look at this and be prepared for this struggle. Fundamentally, we must understand something. We do not know when—it could have been two years ago. We don’t know if it will be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but we must be prepared and say that whatever they try, whatever the pseudo-elections, we will overcome, we will win, we will get a free Iran.
Thank you very much.
