HÁWAR.help PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE “JUSTICE” TASK FORCE FOR EXECUTED POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

Through our HÁWAR.help sponsorship program, we match political prisoners in Iran with sponsors, including members of parliament, associations, trade unions, and organizations. These sponsorships bring public attention to individuals the regime would prefer to make disappear. Each sponsorship — now numbering over 450 — puts pressure on the Iranian regime, with the aim of overturning death sentences and charges, and ultimately securing the prisoners’ release.

The regime has not been deterred from carrying out killings. Thus, for the members of parliament and for our human rights organization, the mission is far from over: Together with HÁWAR.help, the sponsors of executed prisoners have launched the “Justice” Task Force to hold those responsible to account. We aim to keep the memory of the regime’s victims alive and help their families achieve justice. We demand that the perpetrators be identified, named, sanctioned, and brought to justice.

Based on our research and civil society partners in Iran, we have compiled a list of individuals affiliated with the Iranian regime who were directly involved in death sentences and state-sanctioned executions of political prisoners. These individuals – judges, prosecutors, security forces, intelligence officers, and prison staff – bear personal responsibility for the most severe human rights violations. On January 8, 2024, we submitted this list to the German federal government with the demand that these names be included in the EU sanctions mechanism, so that individual sanctions can be imposed on them.

Even though the road ahead is long, we will walk it together. And we will not stop fighting until every state-sponsored execution by the Iranian regime is accounted for. We know that the imposition of sanctions alone cannot bring justice to the murdered and their families. But it is an important step: The members of parliament who have taken on sponsorships and HÁWAR.help stand firmly by the side of the victims’ families. They should know that they are not alone in their fight for justice. At the same time, the regime’s affiliates in Iran must understand that we will not forget their crimes. The perpetrators will not be able to escape accountability forever.

“The execution of Milad Zohrevand, who was only 20 years old and had just become a father, makes me deeply sad and speechless. We must increase international pressure on the regime that murdered him and others simply for protesting in order to prevent future killings and oppression in Iran and to ensure justice is served.”  – Robin Korte, MdL (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), political sponsor of Milad Zohrevand, executed on 23.11.2023

“Justice” Task Force:

• Düzen Tekkal, Founder & CEO of HÁWAR.help
• Mariam Claren, Daniela Sepehri, and Mina Khani, co-initiators of the HÁWAR.help sponsorship program
• Helge Limburg, MdB (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), political sponsor of Mohammad Mehdi Karimi, executed on 07.01.2023
• Nadja Sthamer, MdB (SPD), political sponsor of Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, executed on 07.01.2023
• Peter Heidt, MdB (FDP), political sponsor of Saeed Yaghoobi, executed on 19.05.2023
• Martina Renner, MdB (Die Linke), political sponsor of Saleh Mirhashemi, executed on 19.05.2023
• Christian Dürr, MdB (FDP), political sponsor of Majid Kazemi, executed on 19.05.2023
• Deborah Düring, MdB (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), political sponsor of Ayoub Rigi, executed on 24.12.2022
• Knut Gerschau, MdB (FDP), political sponsor of Asef Shahbakhsh, executed on 20.05.2023
• Silvia Gosewinkel, MdL (SPD), political sponsor of Elias Raisi, executed on 24.12.2022
• Petra Pau, MdB (Die Linke), political sponsor of Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeim Hashem Ghotali, publicly executed on 08.07.2023
• Robin Korte, MdL (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), political sponsor of Milad Zohrevand, executed on 23.11.2023
• Maren Jasper-Winter, Federal Executive Board Member (FDP), political sponsor of Javad Rouhi, who died from poisoning while in police custody on 31.08.2023
• Tonka Wojahn, MdA (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), political sponsor of Rahman Parhazo, executed on 28.12.2023
• Jürgen Hardt, MdB (CDU), political sponsor of Aram Omari Bardiani, executed on 28.12.2023
• Danial Ilkhanipour, MdHB (SPD), political sponsor of Ebrahim Rigi, who died from police violence following his release on 22.02.2022
• Josephine Ortleb, MdB (SPD), political sponsor of Amir Hossein Troval, who died from the effects of torture after his release on 22.02.2022