The “Committee of Romanian Parliamentarians for a Free Iran” has issued an urgent appeal to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, calling for the immediate suspension of the death sentences of two Iranian political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. In their statement dated September 18, 2024, the Romanian lawmakers voiced their deep concern over the executions and called on the UN to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its ongoing human rights violations.
Ehsani and Hassani, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), were sentenced to death by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth.” The Romanian committee condemned these charges as a clear attempt by the Iranian regime to suppress political opposition through fear and violence, noting that this repression comes on the anniversary of the 2022 protests.
The Romanian parliamentarians also highlighted Iran’s violations of international human rights law, particularly its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). They pointed to the arbitrary arrests, torture, and use of the death penalty against political prisoners as clear breaches of these agreements.
In their letter, the committee requested the UN to:
- Issue a public condemnation of the Iranian regime’s use of the death penalty as a political tool.
- Demand the immediate and unconditional release of Behrouz Ehsani, Mehdi Hassani, and other political prisoners in Iran.
- Activate UN human rights mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council, to investigate these executions and the broader repression in Iran, with special rapporteurs mandated to investigate extrajudicial executions.
The full text of the letter follows: