Statement of solidarity with the popular uprising of people, workers, and students in Iran

Reports from Iran indicate that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and other Iranian security forces have fired directly at peaceful demonstrations in Iranian cities. Regime officials are hiding corpses in order to keep the government’s firm crackdown on protests a secret.

In the recent nationwide uprising, more than 1500 people have been killed by direct shooting by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, including those as young as thirteen years old. In addition, more than 4,000 people have been injured and more than 12,000 innocent political prisoners have been arrested. However, the actual statistics may be much higher. As protests expanded to over 190 cities, Iranian authorities shut down the Internet on November 16 to keep the world unaware of their crimes and inhibit further protests from forming.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she is “extremely concerned about [the detainees’] physical treatment, violations of their right to due process, and the possibility that a significant number of them may be charged with offences that carry the death penalty, in addition to the conditions under which they are held”.

The reality of millions of Iranian people and workers live below the poverty line. ACHRS fully supports the wave of mass uprisings and protests by the Iranian people to achieve their basic democratic and economic rights.

We believe as long as the dictatorial regime in Iran remains, poverty, inflation, unemployment, and repression will continue in Iran and the popular protests and uprisings of the Iranian youth will continue.

We support all political prisoners including women, men, youth, students, workers and teachers who were imprisoned because of the positive change they have attempted to initiate. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners detained during recent uprisings and protests.

In solidarity with the Iranian people, we join the The Association in Defence of Freedom in Iran and other organization; Association to Defend Freedom & Human Rights in Iran-Australia, Australian Supporters of Democracy in Iran, Crosslink Christian Network Australia, Edmund Rice Center, Pax Christi Australia, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Center, we call upon all human rights organizations and individuals around the world to join this declaration of solidarity with the Iranian people to help the Iranian people and youth and uphold their rightful demands.

We encourage the United Nations and the international community of human rights defenders to strongly condemn the suppression of the Iranian protests. We call on the United Nations to urgently send a delegation to Iran to investigate the situation of killed, injured and arrested protesters.

International silence in the face of heinous crimes against humanity in Iran is absolutely unacceptable. The UN Security Council must recognize the Iranian regime and its officials as responsible for these crimes and demand they be brought to justice. The UN Security Council must make a formal declaration that the Iranian regime is committing crimes against humanity.