Following a European Parliament motion for a resolution on the systematic repression of human rights in Iran, Tehran stated on Saturday that it rejects the foreign interference and condemns the resolution.
The January 21 motion specifically highlights the cases of the arrests of Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi and Kurdish dissident Wrisha Moradi, as well as the taking of EU citizens as hostages.
Additionally, the motion calls for the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and noted that “the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court’s ruling on the 2022 Bochum synagogue attack provides the necessary legal grounds.”
In 2023, a German-Iranian man was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for planning an arson attack against a synagogue in the western German city of Bochum, on the direction of an individual in Iran, whom the court determined was part of an Iranian state agency.
In a statement published by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director General of Human Rights and Women, Marzieh Afkham, condemned the “irresponsible resolution” and noted it was devoid of any legal validity.
“The judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a professional and independent body, and judicial processes in Iran are always based on law and conducted through fair trial procedures,” she said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers any foreign interference aimed at meddling in judicial processes and functions as contrary to the principles and rules of international law and rejects it,” Afkham added.
'Completely unjustified'
In the government’s statement, it was said that the resolution’s section regarding the IRGC was “completely unjustified.”
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a legal and popular institution, has played a fundamental role in safeguarding Iran's national security, defending Iran against the aggression of Saddam's regime and other invading forces, and combating terrorism in the region,” Afkham said. “Any audacity against this homeland-defending institution will be met with a decisive response from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The European Parliament document noted that from August 2023 to January 2025, Azizi was arrested, sentenced to death for “armed rebellion against the state” and “membership of opposition groups,” and had her death sentence upheld by the Supreme Court. Azizi was also reportedly denied access to family visits and legal representation of her choice and subjected to severe psychological and physical torture in solitary confinement.
Moradi was sentenced to death in November 2024 for “armed rebellion against the state,” the document said, and her appeal before the Supreme Court is pending. Moradi’s allegations of torture and other ill-treatment were reportedly never investigated.
The motion also highlights the cases of dual nationals who “face targeted arrests in Iran on vague charges” and noted the diplomatic efforts of the German and Italian governments to free German-Iranian activist Nahid Taghavi and Italian journalist Cecilia Sala.
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.