European Parliament condemns systematic human rights violations in Iran, including against Christians

The European Parliament condemned the systematic violation of human rights in Iran, including against Christians, in a resolution.

On Thursday, January 23, 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the systematic violation of human rights in Iran and the persecution of minorities, including Christians. The resolution, while referring to the systematic suppression of human rights protests by the Islamic Republic government, emphasized that these measures are aimed at silencing the voices of the opposition and suppressing protests.

The resolution states: "Christians, especially Christian converts, face systematic persecution after conversion. Minorities such as Kurds, Balochs, and Baha'is also face ethnic and religious discrimination, and their fundamental rights are violated."

Three global Christian organizations, along with Article 18, published a report on this matter, according to which prison sentences against Christians in the country increased sixfold in 2024, with a total of 96 Christians sentenced to 263 years in prison. It should be noted that this report was reviewed at a meeting in Geneva at the United Nations.

In this resolution, the European Parliament referred to the conviction of two Kurdish female political prisoners, Pakhshan Azizi and Warishe Moradi, who were sentenced to death, and called for the annulment of their sentences, emphasizing that they were deprived of a fair trial and were subjected to torture and solitary confinement.

In this resolution, the European Parliament also called for the cancellation of the death sentence and the release of Ahmad Reza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish physician and researcher who has been held hostage in Iranian prisons for nearly 9 years and sentenced to death, and other European citizens held hostage in Iran.

This resolution, while emphasizing the need for the European Union to support human rights defenders and the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, calls for increased support for Iranian civil society, strengthening UN monitoring and fact-finding missions, and placing the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorist organizations.

The resolution was presented by a number of members of the European Parliament and Daniel Ettard from Malta, and was approved by an overwhelming majority in Brussels.