Rouhani became president of Iran in 2013, following a faceoff against the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. He subsequently named his administration “the government of planning and hope.”
After Rouhani announced his trip to Austria the NCRI issued a statement stating that any welcoming of Rouhani and other Iranian regime officials would encourage their human rights violations and export of terrorism.
Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, whose mission was recently extended for another year, issued his latest report during the 31st official Human Rights Council Session. In it, he criticized the worsening crackdown of freedom of speech and the status of official or non-official religious minorities. He also called on the Iranian government to reevaluate discriminatory laws against women and recognize equal rights for them. Furthermore, the report noted that the number of executions reported in 2015 was the highest in the past ten years.
The NCRI issued a statement on March 23rd calling on political parties, MPs and human rights advocates in Austria to campaign for the cancellation of Rouhani’s visit. This statement reads in part, “The Iranian Resistance considers the planned trip of Rouhani, president of the religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran, to Austria against the highest interests of the Iranian people and the countries in the region and calls on Austrian political parties, parliamentarians and defenders of human rights to cancel this visit.”
The statement added that Rouhani has a very bleak report card on human rights, including more than 2,000 executions that have taken place since he took office. “Rouhani has always been amongst the highest ranking officials of this regime and he should face justice along with other leaders of this regime for crimes against humanity. He is no different from other regime leaders as far as suppression and export of terrorism is concerned,” the statement continued.
“Rouhani has never expressed any opposition to the collective and arbitrary executions that number 2,300 during his own term in office; in fact, he has described them as ‘divine law or legislations by the parliament’ that need to be carried out,” the texts added.
The NCRI has called on Western governments to precondition any economic relations with Iran to improved human rights conditions and an end to all executions. In this regard the NCRI statement reads, “At a time when Western countries have been silent and ignorant regarding the barbaric violation of human rights and crimes of this regime in Syria, Iraq and other regional countries, welcoming Rouhani and other leaders of this regime will encourage them in the violation of human rights in Iran, as well as in the export of terrorism, fundamentalism and warmongering in the region and the world. Any relations with this regime should be preconditioned to the annulment of the death penalty in Iran and this regime’s interference in the region.”
