The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

 

Dear Prime Minister,

We the organising committee of Iranian diaspora stand firm with the brave women, men, students, and the people of Iran who are peacefully protesting the tragic killing of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Iranian regime’s so-called ‘morality police.’ The Iranian regime’s brutal repression of these protests – killing, beating, and arresting protesters – is once again demonstrating its blatant disregard for human rights and human life. 

Since the protests began, security forces have reportedly responded by using lethal force against unarmed demonstrators and bystanders who posed no threat to life. In blatant disregard of international rules on the use of force.

The security forces, notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces have used live ammunition, birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas and batons. We received reports that injured protesters fear going to hospital for risk of being arrested by the security forces. Medical professionals have publicly denounced interference by security forces in the treatment of injured protesters.

From what we could gather, around 24,000 people, including children, have so far been arrested in the context of the protests. This is a staggering number. We are alarmed by reports that even children suspected of having participated in protests are being arrested at school. Hundreds of university students have been summoned for questioning, threatened or suspended and barred from entering university campuses.

Civil society actors have been targeted and arrested from their homes and workplaces, among them human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers. Arrested protesters continue to be denied access to a lawyer. Many face national security charges with lengthy prison sentences.

There are troubling reports of physical and psychological torture and ill treatment of protesters in detention to extract forced confessions under the severest form of torture, with some of them broadcast on State media.

According to official sources, at least 21 people arrested in the context of the protests currently face the death penalty of which at least six have been sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) and efsad-e fel-arz (corruption on earth), inconsistent with international standards.

We demand that the Australian government in-line with our values and beliefs take significant, further action against the Iranian regime. 

We require the Australian Government to:

• List the Iranian regime, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its top leaders, officers, and senior members – as inadmissible to Australia for their engagement in terrorism and systemic and gross human rights violations, by pursuing a designation under Australia’s Immigration Act which will deny them access to Australia. Implementation of Section 133C (3) of the Migration Act (the Act) which permits the minister to cancel a visa if they consider its holder has satisfied one of the cancellation grounds under section 116 of the Act, and if they also consider it “in the public interest” to do so.

• Significantly expand sanctions against those responsible for the Iranian regime’s egregious human rights abuses by building on our existing sanctions, including those announced last week, to implement the most robust and comprehensive set of sanctions in the world against the IRGC. 

• Expel the Iranian ambassador from Canberra.

• Introduce new regulation to ensure no sanctioned individual connected to the IRGC can enter, reside and engage in business activities in Australia.

• Implement heavy sanctions and ensure we can freeze and seize sanctioned individuals’ assets, including through a dedicated office and additional support Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate and identify assets and gather evidence. 

• Pursue all the tools at our disposal, including the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law), which enables restrictive financial and property measures for foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of human rights.

 

• Put IRGC and Sepah in terorrist list.

Together, this new suite of measures will help hold the Iranian regime to account for its egregious actions. These new measures build on your previous actions, will be some of the strongest in the world against the Iranian regime, including designating the state of Iran as a state supporter of terrorism. 

In Australia, we say we are champions of the women rights, but we’re not acting in accordance with our values and we need our government to do more and to act in accordance with our values and beliefs.