In an attempt to save them from the capital punishment that could be inflicted on them, eleven Iranian political prisoners are now symbolically sponsored by Quebec MPs. The elected officials of Québec solidaire announced on Saturday their participation in this gesture of international solidarity.
Mercier MP Ruba Ghazal got the ball rolling in December, revealing that she was godmother to Bita Haghani, a young blogger arrested in October. For taking part in protests, Ms Haghani was charged with “corruption on Earth” and risked the death penalty. She was eventually sentenced to 18 years in prison, which could translate to 5 years behind bars, according to her lawyer.
“People from the community [iranienne] told me that the fact that I sponsored her, I know that there is a senator in France who [l’]sponsored… In the end, it may have saved her life and it ensured that she was not sentenced to death”, indicates Ms. Ghazal.
The movement of sponsorship of Iranian political prisoners is gaining momentum, while several dozen European elected officials have already taken part in it as well as federal deputies in Canada.
The aim is to protect these people incarcerated by the Iranian regime, following the wave of protests that began last fall, by circulating their stories on social media.
“This initiative is carried by the Iranian diaspora here in Quebec, in Canada, in Europe, […] like, in Quebec, the Iranian Women’s Association,” explains Ms. Ghazal.
Diaspora members communicate with human rights organizations in Iran that are in contact with prisoners’ families.
“They give the most information to humanize, because often just statistics, to say that there are so many people who have been arrested, that there are so many people who have died, it remains abstract, so that there, it is to give a face to this mobilization and this revolution”, affirms the deputy.
Bita Haghani, Amir Arslan Mahdavi, Dena Sheibani, Hesam Moussavi, Eshraq Najafabadi, Mohammad Khiveh, Shirin Marashi, Arshia Takdastan, Melika Semsarian, Reza Kooshki-Nejad and Baran Saedi are the eleven faces sponsored by Québec solidaire elected officials.
The objective, for Ms. Ghazal, is that the movement continues and that other deputies follow suit. She also encourages citizens who are wondering how to act in the face of the situation in Iran to talk about it with their elected officials.
The deputy, who participates in demonstrations of support, was already at the origin of the motion adopted unanimously in the National Assembly in December and aimed at supporting the women of Iran.
“What is happening in Iran is very difficult, the population is suffering, but at the same time it is something extremely inspiring. It’s a whole generation, a whole people who are rising up by themselves, “said the one who had spoken of” real feminist revolution “at the National Assembly last month.
The next step for Ms. Ghazal is to call on the federal government to have the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) considered a terrorist organization.
The protests began in mid-September in Iran, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by vice police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Women have played a prominent role in the protests, with many protesters publicly removing the compulsory Islamic headscarf, the hijab.
According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that closely follows the unrest, at least 525 protesters have been killed and more than 19,500 people have been arrested over the past four months.
Ruba Ghazal says he recognizes himself in these Iranian women. ” Young people [Iraniens] do things that any young person in the Western world does, that is to say share their passions on social networks, very ordinary things and there, they risk the death penalty”, specifies the MP born in Lebanon and of Palestinian origin, “cultures close to Iran”.
“Today, I have the privilege of being an MP, but if my parents had made another choice, I could have found myself in the same situation as these young people,” concludes Ms. Ghazal.