Iran And The Persecution Of Religious Minorities

EDM number 453 in 2014-15, proposed by Jeffrey Donaldson on 30/10/2014.
Categorised under the topics of Human rights, Iran and Religion and faith communities.

That this House condemns the persecution of Christians, Bahá'ís and other religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran which has increased under the leadership of President Rouhani and calls on the Iranian government to release prisoners incarcerated on account of their faith such as Farshid Fathi, Benham Irani, Alireza Seyyedian, Homayoun Shokouhi, Vahid Hakkani, Mojtaba Seyyed Alaedin Hossein, Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Silas Rabbani, Shahin Lahooti, Suroush Saraie, Ebrahim Firouzi, Maryam Naghash Zargaran and Rasoul Abdollahi; is concerned by Iran's refusal to allow entry to a delegation of UK parliamentarians to open positive and respectful dialogue on these matters; notes the recent comments of President Rouhani's Advisor on Religious Affairs that underlined the illegality of religious conversion in Iran which sits contrary to Iran's obligations under international law; urges the UK and the 46 other member states of the UN Human Rights Council, to raise the cases of individual Christian prisoners of conscience during Iran's Universal Periodic Review on 31 October 2014, and to recommend their release; and further urges Ministers to recognises the significance the UK population places on putting human rights and religious liberty at the heart of the UK's international relations, noting the Iranian government's eagerness to see its embassy reopened in London.

This motion has been signed by a total of 36 MPs.