Australian lawmakers and human rights advocates condemned Iran’s executions and the 1988 massacre, backed the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations, and endorsed Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.
A high-profile conference at the Australian Parliament brought together lawmakers, human rights advocates, and representatives of the Iranian community to condemn Iran’s continuing executions and repression and express support for the Iranian people’s struggle for a democratic future.
Held under the title “From the 1988 Massacre to Today’s Executions: The Necessity of Establishing a Democratic Republic in Iran for Lasting Peace and Stability in the Middle East,” the conference connected the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 with the regime’s continuing use of the death penalty against protesters and political prisoners.
Speakers also stressed that Iran’s future should not involve replacing one dictatorship with another. Instead, they backed a democratic republic based on free elections, human rights, separation of religion and state, and equality.
Australian lawmakers condemn repression
Rob Mitchell, Chair of the Australian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science, expressed solidarity with the Iranian people and the Iranian-Australian community.
He described Iran’s ruling establishment as a destabilizing force through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxy groups, and violent intimidation both inside and outside Iran.
Mitchell also condemned the regime’s human rights violations and the killing of thousands of Iranian citizens, stressing that the international community must continue demanding respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.
He expressed strong support for Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, describing it as a roadmap worthy of support and emphasizing that the Iranian people deserve free and fair elections and a democratic Iran.
“We know that war is not the solution, and appeasement will not be the answer either,” Mitchell said, while calling for an Iran led by its own people and founded on justice, human rights, and freedom.
He also highlighted measures taken by Australia against the Iranian regime, including diplomatic, legal, and security actions, the closure of the regime’s embassy, expulsion of its ambassador, designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, and targeted sanctions against more than 230 individuals.
“Any attack on Iranian activists is an attack on us”
Senator Paul Scarr, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Privileges, said he had signed a statement supporting Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, joining what he described as thousands of parliamentarians supporting the proposal as a roadmap toward freedom, democracy, and peace in Iran.
Scarr recalled joining Iranian-Australian communities in Queensland following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. He said that experience had strengthened his commitment to standing with Iranians seeking freedom and democracy.
He also issued a strong warning against transnational repression targeting Iranian activists in Australia.
“Any attack on you and your freedoms, including your freedom of expression, because of your activities in support of the people of Iran … is an attack on me as a member of the Australian Parliament.”
Scarr said Iranian-Australian activists could count on the support of Australian parliamentarians and pledged to continue working toward the realization of the Iranian people’s aspirations for freedom and democracy.
A physician describes repression as a threat to public health
Dr. Mahasti Taheri, a physician and representative of the Iranian community in Australia, approached the crisis from a medical perspective.
She said that while her professional life had been dedicated to protecting human life and alleviating suffering, Iran was experiencing wounds that medicine alone could not heal.
“The greatest threat to the health and well-being of the people is not disease, but systematic repression,” she said.
Taheri highlighted the 1988 massacre, in which approximately 30,000 political prisoners were executed, around 90 percent of them members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
She emphasized that the repression did not end in 1988 and that political prisoners continue to face execution today.
Taheri also highlighted the role of Iranian women in the struggle for democratic change and said Maryam Rajavi’s political vision deserved international attention. Iranian women, she argued, have not only participated in resistance to dictatorship but have repeatedly demonstrated their capacity to lead the struggle for democratic transformation.
She called on Australia to refer serious human rights violations in Iran to the UN Security Council and ensure that those responsible face international justice.
Phil Glendenning: Iranians reject both forms of dictatorship
Dr. Phil Glendenning, President of the Australian Refugee Council and Director of the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education, recalled former Irish President Mary Robinson’s description of Maryam Rajavi as one of the world’s most courageous women.
Glendenning said he had repeatedly met Rajavi at international gatherings and praised her commitment to human rights, women’s rights, and democratic principles.
He then focused on the continuing executions in Iran, noting reports of large numbers of people facing death sentences, including political prisoners.
The central political message of his remarks was that Iranians do not want to replace one dictatorship with another.
“We have left behind the dictatorship of the Shah, and now we face a religious dictatorship. We do not want to return again to a monarchical dictatorship,” he said.
Glendenning rejected externally imposed political solutions and argued that the Iranian people are seeking democracy, human dignity, equality, justice, the rule of law, and the right to determine their own future.
He expressed support for Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan as a framework for the transition to a democratic government and called for the immediate abolition of executions and the unconditional release of political prisoners.
He concluded with a message to the people of Iran: “You are not alone.”
Dowlat Nowrouzi: Neither appeasement nor war is the answer
Dowlat Nowrouzi, representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the United Kingdom, emphasized the scale of repression, executions, poverty, inflation, and unemployment confronting Iranian society.
He argued that years of negotiations and appeasement had failed to fundamentally change the regime’s behavior, while foreign war could not provide a solution to Iran’s political crisis.
Instead, he advocated what he called Maryam Rajavi’s “Third Option”: change led by the Iranian people and their organized resistance.
Nowrouzi highlighted the Ten-Point Plan’s commitments to free and fair elections, a democratic and pluralistic republic, separation of religion and state, gender equality, equal rights for ethnic and religious minorities, abolition of the death penalty, a non-nuclear Iran, and peaceful coexistence with neighboring countries and the international community.
He called on Australian lawmakers to recognize the Iranian people’s right to determine their own future and to support their struggle against all forms of dictatorship.
A growing international call for accountability
The range of voices at the Australian Parliament conference reflected a common conclusion: Iran’s executions and repression cannot be separated from the regime’s broader political crisis.
The 1988 massacre remains a defining example of the cost paid by political opponents of the regime, while the continuing executions demonstrate that the machinery of repression remains active.
The speakers called for international accountability, an end to executions, support for political prisoners, and recognition of the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations.
Their message also rejected the notion that Iran must choose between the current religious dictatorship and a return to monarchy.
The alternative presented at the conference was a democratic republic in which sovereignty belongs to the Iranian people.
For the Iranian community in Australia and their parliamentary supporters, the message was equally clear: the struggle for freedom in Iran is not forgotten, and international solidarity must continue until Iranians can determine their own future in freedom, democracy, and dignity.