No call for the death penalty?
Iranian parliament sees document forgers at work
11/13/2022, 4:36 p.m
After a week everything suddenly sounds very different: the Iranian parliament has not called for the death penalty for demonstrators, it is now said. Rather, a corresponding report is a “falsification of documents”. Some MPs had only spoken out in favor of harsh penalties.
Iran’s parliament has denied reports of a majority of MPs calling for harsh punishment for detained protesters in Iran. “The letter from 227 MEPs mentioned in the media was a forged document and the reports in this regard are therefore denied,” the parliament announced in a press statement. Some lawmakers only called for harsh penalties for those involved in murder and bloodshed during the unrest, the Fars news agency said in a statement.
Observers viewed the allegation of an alleged forgery as a backtracking. According to media reports, 227 of the 290 parliamentarians issued a statement last week accusing the participants in the nationwide protests of “war against God” and demanding corresponding verdicts from the judiciary. According to Islamic law, the “war against God” charge could also result in the death penalty – and that’s how it was assessed at home and abroad.
Observers in the country believe that the claim that the statement picked up by the state media was a forgery is not credible. Therefore, according to their assessment, the denial is only an attempt to withdraw the implicit demand for the death penalty for the protesters, which has been condemned in the strongest possible terms at home and abroad. Since 2020, Iran’s parliament has been dominated by hardliners who have been known for their radical – and ill-considered – decisions ever since.
This Monday, the EU states want to decide on a new package of sanctions in view of the serious violations of human rights in Iran. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States in Brussels unanimously approved plans on Friday, several diplomats confirmed. The formal decision will follow on Monday. Specifically, 31 people and institutions are said to be affected by the punitive measures – including, for example, high-ranking representatives of the police and the Basij militias. The measures provide for entry bans to be issued and assets available in the EU to be frozen, as it was said on Friday.