As detailed in the latest report by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH-OMCT partnership, titled Indefensible: Iran’s systematic criminalisation of human rights defenders, many human rights defenders, both male and female, have been targeted for their defence of women’s rights and their support of the protests against mandatory hijab laws. This report, presented to MEPs prior to the resolution, documents a criminalisation pattern targeting human rights defenders, including human rights lawyers, clearly aimed at curbing human rights activities and freedom of expression.
The resolution calls on Iran to “annul all the sentences and immediately and unconditionally release Mojgan Keshavarz, Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, Saba Kord-Afshari and Atena Daemi as women’s rights defenders protesting against the compulsory hijab; calls also for the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, Narges Mohammadi, Sepideh Gholian, Sanaz Allahyari, Asal Mohammadi, Marzieh Amiri and Atefeh Rangriz, and of all the human rights defenders imprisoned and sentenced for simply exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”
The MEPs further demand the immediate and unconditional release of all EU-Iranian dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Ahmadreza Djalali, Kamal Ahmady, Kamran Ghaderi, Massud Mossaheb and Morad Tahbaz and denounce the continuing practice of imprisonment of EU-Iranian dual nationals by the Iranian judiciary following unfair trials.