POLITICAL SPONSORSHIPS

It is in exercising their most fundamental rights and freedoms – such as the freedom of expression, the right to respect for their private life – that countless Iranians have been condemned to torture and the death penalty. For yes, these are the punishments endured by anyone who dares to challenged, however peacefully, the Iranian regime.

Faced with the distress of the Iranian people, we must act swiftly and effectively. The idea of political sponsorship emerged in the corridors of various national European institutions and instances as a way to exert political pressure in order to protect sentenced Iranian citizens.

It is within this context that we, as citizens of Luxembourg, wish to contribute to this wave of political pressure exerted against the Iranian authorities.

                                                     What exactly is political sponsorship?

Political sponsorship can be understood as a form of ‘guarantee’ provided by people exercising a political mandate or, more generally, by an entire political group, who decide to support a sentenced Iranian citizen.

                                                    How does political sponsorship work ?

Political sponsorship can be carried out in several ways. The aim of it being to publicly exhibit a continued support to the sentenced ‘godchild’, the political ‘godparent’ has the possibility to:

1- Publicly display their support on social media by writing up and sharing a short presentation of who the sentenced Iranian citizen is, as well as of the criminal penalties to which they have been subjected, ranging from incarceration to the death penalty. This post is accompanied by the hashtag #StopExecutionsInIran

2- Write directly to the responsible of the Iranian judiciary, urging him to immediately halt the death sentences, and to ensure the sentenced citizens’ right to a fair trial, their right to an effective remedy, and insist that the fundamental rights of every single accused citizen be respected:

Responsable du pouvoir judiciaire – Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei

c/o Ambassade de l’Iran auprès de l’Union européenne Avenue Franklin Roosevelt No. 15,

1050 Bruxelles, Belgique secretariat@iranembassy.be Fax: (+32) 2 762 39 15/ 55 49 twitter.com/iranmissioneu

3- Directly contact the Ministry of European and Foreign Affaires (le Ministre des Affaires étrangères et européennes) to request information on the sentenced Iranian citizen in question, such as personal information, the charges brought against her/him, as well as their current situation.

The political ‘godmother’ or ‘godfather’ will generally carry out each of these three courses of action.

                                     What can actually be achieved by political sponsorship ?

While political sponsorship might seem at first sight to be merely symbolic, it in fact holds the potential to spur progress when taken together with the entirety of measures already taken against the Iranian regime.

Not only does this political sponsorship demonstrate support and solidarity to the Iranian people, sending the message that they are not alone in their struggle to establish a democratic government, but it also conveys a staunch rejection of impunity: under the scrutiny of multiple political ‘godparents’, sentenced Iranians’ deaths will go neither unnoticed nor unchallenged. This European and international response to the blatant violations of Iranians’ human rights is a form of continued collective pressure that conveys support to the Iranian people.

                The Luxembourgish Members of Parliament commiIed to Iranian prisoners

You can see hereunder the list of Iranian political prisoners who have benefited from the support of Luxembourgish Members of Parliament.