A
letter from a group of Iranian political, pro-democracy, civil and human rights
activists addressed to delegates participating in the 127th Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) Assembly
Esteemed ladies and gentlemen;
Greetings to IPU Delegates,
Today, as representatives of
parliaments around the world gather in this assembly, the political situation
in our country, Iran, has reached a point such that governing institutions no
longer have any popular support. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad illegally and
undemocratically maintained his hold on to the presidency in the June 2009
election with the support of military and security apparatuses controlled by
the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. After this controversial election,
the authoritarian leadership did everything possible to undermine the
republican aspect of the governing system. This process — initiated with the
electoral fraud committed by the ruling government and through collaboration of
the security apparatus and the judiciary — led to the arrest, illegal detention
and torture of hundreds of political and civil rights activists, journalists,
students and university professors. People in the streets also were not spared
the aggression of the enemies of free and fair elections. Thousands of
protesting civilians participating in peaceful demonstrations were confronted
with violence and were subjected to bloody repression by the security and
military apparatus of the authoritarian system. Dozens of civilians were shot
in the streets and lost their lives for simply asking, “Where is my vote?”
Furthermore, several former parliament members who supported the demands of the
popular majority also faced repression and violent reprisals. They, too, were
illegally arrested, tortured and incarcerated. Mr. Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mr.
Behzad Nabavi, Mr. Mir Taher Mousavi and Mrs. Faezeh Hashemi
are among the former parliament members who, unfortunately, remain illegally
detained. Former parliament members Mr. Ebrahim Yazdi, Mr. Mohsen Safayi
Farahani, Mr. Mohsen Armin and Mr. Ali Shakourirad likewise
endured months of detention but have been temporarily released on bail.
In February 2011 Iran’s
authoritarian system illegally placed Mr. Mehdi Karroubi — the former
chairman of Iran’s third and sixth terms of Parliament, and a candidate in 2009
presidential election — under house arrest. This occurred without trial or any
other legal proceedings. Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi — the other opposition
candidate — and his wife, Mrs. Zahra Rahnavard, were likewise illegally
placed on house arrest. The unlawful confinement of Mousavi, Karroubi and
Rahnavard — who led and continue to lead the post-election protest movement,
the “Iranian Green Movement” — has lasted 610 days and counting. They remain under
house arrest with no court proceedings and deprived of their basic human and
legal rights. After widespread repression of the pro-democracy protesters,
Iran’s authoritarian rulers held elections in 2012 for the ninth term of
Parliament. These elections — in our view and that of a number of independent
political observers — failed to meet the basic criteria for a free and fair
election. The result of the aforementioned election mockery was a
pseudo-parliament that is under the sway of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Republic of Iran. However, holding free and fair elections is the prime duty of
IPU member states. The Islamic Republic of Iran — despite ratifying IPU
statutes and the International Civil and Political Covenant, which emphasizes
citizens’ political rights — has failed to observe and respect this major
principle. Members of IPU are committed to adhering to the Union’s principles
and upholding its values, including peace and cooperation among people for the
firm establishment of free and vital parliaments as well as the promotion of
human rights. We beseech the members of this Union to do their utmost to secure
the human and legal rights of the true representatives of the Iranian people —
those who remain detained in prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Please
make haste to take whatever legal action may provide for the release of Mr.
Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mr. Behzad Nabavi, Mr. Mir Taher Mousavi and Mrs. Faezeh
Hashemi, as well as the release of Mr. Mehdi Karroubi, Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi,
Mrs. Zahra Rahnavard and other political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. We thank you in advance for your collaboration with all Iranian democracy
and freedom seekers and human rights defenders.
Signatures:
Abtin Ghaffari - Ebrahim Mehtari-
Arash Aghapour - Azadeh Assadi - Esmail Khtaei – Akbar Dostdar - Amir Etedali -
Amir Rashidi - Memarian Amir - Amir Vaeasteh Haidari - Aida Qajar – Ayandeh
Azad - Babak Amir Khosravi - Behnam Saremi Bijan Poor Behnam -Parvin
Bakhtiarnejhad - Parvin Hemmati - Hafiz Hakami - Hafez Narenji - Hassan Jafari
– Hassan Talebi - Hassan Fereshtian – Hassan Nayeb Hashem – Hussein Sobhan
Allahi - Hussein Alavi – Hamid Reaz Zarifi Nia - Hanif Mazrui – Khosro Bandari
- Dariush Vossoughi - Davod Navaeian –Reza Broumand - Reza Jafarian – Reza
Joshani - Reza Siavoushi - Reza Alijani – Reza Ghazi Noori – Reza Fani Yazdi
-Reza Ganjareh - Ruhollah Shahsavar - Sajedeh Arabsorkhi - Saeedeh kourdi Nejad
- Sara Mahroian - Sajjad Rezaei -Saeed Ghasemi Nejad- Soheil Arabi - Soheil
Parhizi – Shahrokh Ghadimi – Shahrokh Fadakar – Shiva Nojo - Sadra Semnani
Rahbar – Sanam Ghiaei - Zia Abedi - Atefeh Jafari –Abdol Ali Bazargan - Ali
Afshari - Ali Taghipour - Ali Hossin Qazi Zada - Ali Shakeri - Ali Abdi - Ali
Forozandeh - Alireza Kiani – Ali Vatan Khah - Farshad Tomaj - Farshid Faryab -
Farshid Khatmian - Farhad Parsa– Farhad Rouhi - Faria Barlas - Fariba Davoodi
Mohajer - Fahimeh Melati – Kamyar Behrang - Kamran Amiri – Keyvan Frouzan –
Mohsen Heidarian - Mohammad Borghei - Mohammad Behbodi - Mohammad Javad
Akbarein - Mohammad Sajjad Naqhvi - Mohammad Saber Abbasian - Mohammad Sadeghi
– Morteza Eslahchi - Morteza Kazemian - Maryam Ahari - Masoud Azari – Masoud
Shab afrouz - Mostafa Khosravi – Malihe Zehtab - Malihe Mohammadi – Mansoureh
Fathi - Mehdi Khanbaba Tehrani - Mehdi Saharkhiz - Mehdi Arabshahi - Mehdi
Fatahbpour - –Mehdi Roohani - Mehdi Nourbakhsh - Mehdi Yarmohammadi - Mehran
Barati - Mehrdad Hariri – Negin bank- Noushin Manouchehri -Helmand Arbabi –
Yadi Ghorbani
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