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Europe Should Not Support Iran’s Regime in Its Human Rights Violations – Ex-Lawmaker

Struan Stevenson is the Coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change (CiC). He was a member of the European Parliament representing Scotland

One of the worst countries regarding human rights violations is the Iranian regime. With a record of 40 years of torture, execution, police brutality, political repression, religiously motivated violation, mass executions, executions in public, terror, and human trafficking, this chain that the regime is pulling with itself is becoming year after year longer and heavier.

One of the most painful and ugliest acts is that unfortunately some countries and unions like the EU close their eyes on the regime’s human rights violation just because of economic benefits and interests and the petrodollars. And the victims of this policy are the people of Iran and of course in a long period of time, those countries who closed their eyes become victims of terror and kidnappings.

This week the European Parliament discussed the EU’s Annual Report on Human Rights & Democracy in the World’ for the year 2019, at its plenary session in Brussels, followed by a statement of Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security.

This report was slammed by Struan Stevenson, Coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change and a former Member of the European Parliament, because of its extreme weaknesses in condemning the human rights violations in Iran. Speaking from his home in Scotland Struan Stevenson said:

“In his press release, Borrell made no mention of human rights concerns and no mention of the regime’s shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner with the death of all 176 passengers. Nor did he mention the murder of 1,500 protesters and the detention of 12,000 other innocent and defenseless people in the nationwide November uprising in Iran in 2019. He also failed to mention the regime’s cover-up of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and to identify those executed and their graves, an issue that is now under investigation by the UN.

“Borrell could also have raised the theocratic regime’s terrorism, where, in recent years, they have often used their diplomats and intelligence agents to target political opponents in France, Albania, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries. He could have called on Rouhani and Zarif to reveal those commanding and directing the attacks. He could, in addition, have raised the regime’s sponsorship and active involvement in the export of terror and proxy wars in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza and its aggressive attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Borrell’s failure to raise any of these issues in Tehran gives the lie to the EU Human Rights Report’s assertions that they address such matters in high-level bilateral meetings. Indeed, Borrell has further compounded his errors and omissions by this week criticizing the UK, France and Germany in response to a letter from Javad Zarif, in which these countries are censured for failing to adhere strictly to the JCPOA nuclear deal. For Borrell to take the Iranian regime’s side and to reprimand three major European nations regarding the flawed nuclear deal is simply outrageous and beggars belief.

“Borrell has now clearly positioned himself as the EU’s appeaser-in-chief. He should realize that his kow-towing to this evil dictatorship will simply embolden them to conduct even more repression and human rights abuse.”

 

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