Sagartz on the Sakharov Prize 2023: "Jina Mahsa Amini's legacy for women in Iran lives on"

2023-12-12 07:29:17

The Iranian regime’s decision to deny Amini’s family travel to Strasbourg is shameful and unacceptable – human rights are not a matter of negotiation

Strasbourg (OTS) – “Jina Mahsa Amini was murdered by the Iranian regime because she dared to show her hair. But her legacy lives on. Her courage has ignited a spark of hope in Iran, hope for millions of people on the streets, in schools and universities are being suppressed. We stand by their side and demand urgently needed reforms from the regime in Iran for more democracy and the rule of law,” says Christian Sagartz, deputy chairman of the Human Rights Committee in the European Parliament. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be ceremoniously presented to Iranian women’s rights activists Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. The European Parliament had already announced this year’s winners of the EU Human Rights Prize, Jina Mahsa Amini and the women of Iran, in October. The European People’s Party group nominated them and supported them as finalists.

Jina Mahsa Amini’s family would have actually accepted the award for their late daughter. But according to media reports, the Iranian regime refused to allow them to leave the country in order to come to the award ceremony in Strasbourg: “Despite many requests from the EU Parliament, the family of Jina Mahsa Amini cannot now be there when their murdered daughter is honored. The decision of the Iranian rulers is shameful and unacceptable,” emphasizes Sagartz and concludes: “The regime in Tehran cannot arbitrarily arrest or even hold people prisoner. The political prisoners in Iran, including children and young people, must finally be released. Human rights are not a matter of negotiation, but an indispensable foundation of our humanity – compliance with it is not optional, but a fundamental obligation.” (Ending)