EU Parliament seeks to sanction Iranian government officials for "human rights violations"
Less than four weeks before Ebrahim Raisi takes office as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the European Union Parliament has launched a new effort to sanction him and other senior Iranian government officials on charges of "human rights violations."
The European Parliament adopted a resolution in this regard at its meeting on Wednesday, July 6th.
This resolution calls for the imposition of targeted sanctions against senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran who have been involved in the arrest and imprisonment of citizens of European Union member states.
The aforementioned resolution calls on the Council of Europe to consider further smart sanctions, including freezing the possible assets of Islamic Republic officials and all entities associated with the "arbitrary detention" of EU citizens.
The resolution recommends that the Council of Europe use, if necessary, the EU's existing human rights sanctions legislation, known as the Magnitsky Act, against Iranian officials involved in the detention and punishment of European citizens.
Charlie Wimers, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, wrote on his Twitter page on Thursday, July 8, that the institution will take action to pressure Ebrahim Raisi for the crime of "crimes against humanity."
Mr. Wimers, who is one of the most prominent Swedish representatives opposed to the Iranian government, added that the charges against Ebrahim Raisi include "murder, disappearances, and torture."
European countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, which are currently engaged in nuclear negotiations with Iran in Vienna, with the aim of getting the US to return to the JCPOA, have previously shown little willingness to sanction the Iranian government and its leaders in connection with human rights violations.
However, following the announcement of Ebrahim Raisi's victory in Iran's recent "elections," a number of European countries, including Germany and France, have expressed concern about the possibility of a worsening of the human rights situation of the Iranian people.
In their recent resolution, members of the European Parliament have mentioned, among other things, the fate of Dr. Ahmadreza Jalali.
Dr. Jalali, a physician and crisis management expert and visiting professor at several European universities, was arrested and sentenced to death on a business trip from Sweden to Iran a few months after Iran and world powers reached the JCPOA. A new European Parliament resolution has called his trial “cruel.”
Iran has accused Mr. Jalali of spying for Israel and leaking sensitive information about Iran's nuclear program and revealing the names of at least 30 Iranian nuclear scientists to Mossad; a "confession" that Dr. Jalali and his family have insisted was extracted from him under horrific torture.
The European Parliament resolution also expressed concern about the fate of Jamshid Sharmehed, a political opponent of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a member of the Iranian Royal Society, who was the director of Radio Tondar.
Mr. Sharmehed, a German-Iranian citizen who had lived in the United States for a decade, was kidnapped by the Islamic Republic of Iran 11 months ago while traveling to the region and taken to Tehran.
In their resolution, members of the European Parliament emphasized that at least 12 other citizens of European Union countries have been "arbitrarily" detained by the Iranian government.
The resolution states that the aforementioned citizens have been detained by Iran in dire conditions, do not enjoy the right to a fair trial, and have been denied access to legal advice and visits by consular officials and human rights organizations.
Members of the European Parliament have called for the unconditional release of all prisoners with dual European-Iranian citizenship.
Source: Radio Farda
