PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Recognising the 1988 massacre in Iran (3 November 2021)

That this House supports justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre in Iran; recognises that in 1988, thousands of political prisoners, as many as 30,000, were massacred based on a fatwa by Iran's Supreme Leader Khomeini primarily targeting members of the opposition PMOI (MEK) who remained committed to their beliefs; is deeply concerned by the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of the massacre who are today running the Iranian Government and judiciary; recalls that Amnesty International has identified President Ebrahim Raisi as a member of the 1988 Death Commissions which carried out the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions of thousands of political dissidents; reiterates that an enforced disappearance continues until the fate and whereabouts of the individuals concerned are established; welcomes the recent calls by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for an international investigation into Iran’s 1988 massacre of political prisoners; acknowledges Amnesty International's 19 June 2021 statement calling for Raisi to be criminally investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture in accordance with international law and standards, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction; shares the belief of human rights experts that the 1988 enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Iran amount to ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide; calls on the Government to seek a UN Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 massacre; and recognises 19 July as the day to remember victims of the 1988 massacre.

Sponsored by:
Bob Blackman (Conservative)