Amid continuing international reactions to the large-scale killing of protesters in Iran, Members of the European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution with 524 votes in favor, 3 against, and 41 abstentions, strongly condemning the Islamic Republic’s “systematic repression,” arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture, and warning that the scale of the recent killings has crossed the threshold of “crimes against humanity.”
In the text of the resolution, the European Parliament condemned the Islamic Republic’s structural violence against its citizens, particularly the repression of protesters, civil activists, women, minorities, and local communities that have played a significant role in the nationwide protests in recent months.
MEPs stated that existing estimates of the number of victims of the recent crackdown indicate approximately 35,000 deaths, emphasizing that this level of killing—combined with patterns of torture, enforced disappearance, and mass arrests—“may meet the legal criteria for crimes against humanity.”
The European Parliament called on United Nations bodies to independently document these events, preserve evidence for future judicial proceedings, and facilitate the use of international criminal justice mechanisms.
The resolution demands an immediate end to the use of force against civilians, as well as the cessation of arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances.
MEPs specifically urged Iranian authorities to end the harassment and prosecution of doctors and medical personnel who have assisted injured protesters, and to release all those targeted for providing medical care or documenting the repression.
They also called for the immediate release of all political prisoners, highlighting Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as a symbolic example of human rights defenders who remain imprisoned.
In one section of the resolution, the European Parliament reiterated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plays a central role in the nationwide crackdown and the systematic violation of human rights in Iran.
Members of Parliament called on the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to expand targeted sanctions against officials, commanders, and structures responsible for the repression and to strengthen the enforcement of those sanctions.
