AJC Commends EU Parliament’s Decision to Condemn Iran’s Brutal Crackdown on Protesters

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AJC Commends EU Parliament’s Decision to Condemn Iran’s Brutal Crackdown on Protesters

Strasbourg, 16 December 2019 – The AJC Transatlantic Institute salutes the European Parliament’s decision to accept a proposal by the conservative ECR group to vote on a resolution on the “violent crackdown of the recent protests by Iran.” Human rights organizations estimate that the regime has killed up to 1,500 protesters in the past few weeks and injured and arrested thousands more.

“I applaud the ECR Group for this crucial initiative and all those MEPs from across the political spectrum who supported this motion to stand up for democracy and human rights in Iran,” said Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, the Brussels-based EU Office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

“Until now, the European Union has been incomprehensibly reticent to condemn the regime’s violence. When people fight for their freedom, the European Union’s voice must be heard loud and clear. It’s now incumbent upon the European Parliament to clearly state that Europe stands with the people of Iran and not its oppressors,” Schwammenthal said. “The protests that have erupted are to a large degree triggered by the fact that the regime isn’t investing in the welfare of its own people but instead has used its scarce resources to fund terror groups like Hezbollah, assist the Assad regime in ethnically cleansing Syria, and to export its brutal methods to the region.”

Speaking for the ECR group on the plenary floor in Strasbourg, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Anna Fotyga said:

“Our voice raised timely to defend protesting Iranians is a matter of life or death for many imprisoned and still suffering insecurity. (…) I am a person of long-standing experience of protests against Communism. And I know how vital and how important our voice is for those suffering.”