Event:
Brussels, Belgium – The Iranian community in Belgium, supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s main democratic opposition, gathered in Brussels on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in front of Central Station to protest the alarming increase in executions in Iran and demand immediate action to save the lives of political prisoners facing imminent execution.
The demonstrators held up photographs of Mrs Rajavi, President-elect of the CNRI, Iran’s democratic opposition, underlining her appeal to the European Union (EU) to take immediate action to halt executions in Iran. In addition, demonstrators showed images of political prisoners sentenced to death, including Toomaj Salehi, a rapper arrested during the September 2022 uprising, for his support of the uprising.
The Iranian community in Belgium is calling on the Belgian government, the European Union, the United Nations, the Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteur on Iran to intervene urgently and put pressure on the Iranian regime to halt executions and release political prisoners. They specifically call for the withdrawal of the execution verdict fabricated against Toomaj Salehi, and the protection of all those unjustly targeted by the regime. They also call on the EU to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization and to recognize the right of Iranian youth to resist the repressive force of the Iranian regime.
Stop Executions in Iran:
Recent reports from the Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iranhrm) reveal a worrying trend, with the Iranian regime executing 59 people in just two weeks. Moreover, April alone witnessed 72 executions, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Among those facing the threat of execution is Toomaj Salehi, a renowned artist known for his activism, who was sentenced to death by the first branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court on April 24, 2024. The verdict, considered by many to be unjust and politically motivated, sparked outrage within the Iranian community and attracted international attention.
“Khamenei is resorting to a wave of mass executions to counter the uprising and especially the resistance of women in Iran… These executions come today as the U.S. House of Representatives approved Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul’s 6-section ‘Peace Through Power in the 21st Century’ bill against the religious dictatorship’s savage human rights abuses, warmongering and export of terrorism in Iran. 84% of the American people’s representatives voted in favor of it. I call on the UN Security Council and the European Union to take urgent steps to hold Iran’s ruling mullahs to account, to stop the machine of repression and execution, and to save the lives of the condemned,” wrote Mrs. Rajavi on her X account.
Several Belgian news outlets reported this event including: BRUZZ, LA LIBRE, RTL INFO, MSN
