Parliamentarians and Representative of Iranian Opposition Warn of Looming Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran

National Council of Resistance of Iran UK Representative

Parliamentarians and Representative of Iranian Opposition Warn of Looming Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran

At a press conference today in the UK Parliament, Members of Parliament and leading human rights lawyers warned about the surge in executions and crackdown against Iranian dissidents. In particular, they urged the UK Government to intervene immediately to prevent a repeat of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. In the conference, the UK Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) exposed alarming signs of a new wave of executions targeting political prisoners, particularly those affiliated with the main democratic opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Ms Dowlat Nowrouzi, NCRI UK Representative, stressed that according to the information provided by the PMOI/MEK network inside the country, the Iranian regime, in fear of another nationwide uprising, has stepped up its crackdown against dissidents. It includes a major surge in arrests, stepping up state repression, and also increasing the issuing of death sentences against them. According to the NCRI representative, 15 political prisoners affiliated to the PMOI/MEK are currently on death row in various prisons throughout Iran. Following the clerical regime’s defeat in the Iran-Iraq war, 30,000 political prisoners, 90 percent of whom were affiliated with the PMOI/MEK were summarily executed in a few months, in 1988, based on a fatwa by the regime’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini. Speakers called on the UK to lead its European allies in recognising the 1988 massacre as a crime against humanity and genocide, as described in the landmark report of the then UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Dr Javaid Rehman, for July 2024. They stressed that holding the regime accountable for past crimes is essential to ending the culture of impunity and preventing further bloodshed. The Members of Parliament also criticised the UK Government’s narrow focus on Tehran’s nuclear programme, warning that it has overshadowed the worsening human rights crisis and the regime’s growing threats to the UK’s national security. They urged the UK and E3 partners to condition any engagement with Tehran, including nuclear talks on, an immediate halt to executions, the release of political prisoners and dual nationals, and access for UN Special Rapporteurs to visit Iran and its prisons. National Council of Resistance of Iran UK Representative Ms Dowlat Nowrouzi highlighted an editorial publish by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency on 8th July and said: “The Fars News article is not just propaganda; it is a warning. It blatantly states, ‘the time has come to repeat the 1988 executions as a successful, historical experience. This signals a terrifying escalation in the regime’s war on opposition. “On 17 July, the head of regime’s judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i delivered Khamenei’s order to the prosecutors to speed up ‘security-related’ cases and prioritise the implementation of death sentences for so called charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) and corruption on earth. “The regime’s desperation is clear, it fears a people united in their uprising and demand for freedom. “The UK government should break its silence, not only to strongly condemn the clerical regime but to take practical steps, hold those responsible to account and take the necessary measures to bring them before international court.” Prof. Lord Alton of Liverpool said: “Our Government must work to establish an international accountability mechanism to prosecute the known perpetrators, many of whom still hold power in Iran today. “It is time to stop treating the regime as the legitimate voice of the Iranian people. It is their oppressor and the greatest obstacle to their democratic aspirations. “The only true representative of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and justice is the NCRI, led by Madam Rajavi. We therefore call on our Government to recognise and engage with [them] to finally hold this regime accountable and deliver justice for its victims.” Baroness O’Loan DBE said: “Those threatening our national security are the same individuals planning atrocities in Iran’s prisons. So, we must act now. “I urge the Government to coordinate with the Iranian Resistance movement to refer Tehran’s human rights dossier to the UN Security Council, and push for the prosecution of regime leaders in an international tribunal. “Critically, our Government must sanction the Supreme Leader and senior officials under the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.” National Council of Resistance of Iran UK Representative Lord McCabe said: “The surge in executions in Iran is the regime testing the International community, in particular the West, to see if it can get away with another massacre in the country. “Our Government must prove it wrong by endorsing the 10-point democratic plan and alternative proposed by the NCRI and Madam Rajavi, which includes respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, rule of law and abolishment of death penalty and torture. As I said in the meeting in Parliament last Wednesday, We should recognise the only true opposition in Iran.” Professor Sara Chandler KC (Hon.) said: “At this time, we must be vigilant and act to stop executions. As a lawyer, and member of the Federation of European Bars, I call the attention of the international community, in particular the UK Government, to the complete lack of justice or respect for the rule of law. There is no justice in Iran for those who oppose the regime, and who fight for human rights. “The many protestors who are arrested are joined in prison by their lawyers. It is clear there is no respect for the independence of lawyers in Iran. It is also clear that the judiciary is not devoted to justice or the rule of law, it is an extension of state repression, as the case of Saeed Massouri shows.” UK Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) 22 July 202