UK Response to our Letter
Correspondence and Parliamentary Questions Unit
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Email:
fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk
Mehdi Amini
international@iranian-republic.org
www.gov.uk/fcdo
Our ref: TO2022/26034
12 October 2022
Dear Mehdi Amini,
Thank you for your email of 7 October about Iran. The Correspondence and
Parliamentary Questions Unit in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
(FCDO) has been asked to reply.
This Government shares your outrage at the death of Mahsa Amini and subsequent
violent suppression of protests by the Iranian authorities. In his statement of 21
September the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, called
on Iran to investigate Mahsa’s death rigorously and transparently, to demonstrate
accountability, and to respect the right to peaceful protest. That the authorities have
instead responded with police violence, mass arrests and internet shutdowns is
reprehensible.
Mahsa Amini’s death following her arrest by the so-called morality police is a shocking
reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. There can be no justification, in
2022, for preventing women from playing an equal role in society. No one should face
violence because of what they wear or how they express their beliefs. The use of
violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights, by women or any other
members of Iranian society, is wholly unjustifiable.
The UK has joined the international community in wholeheartedly condemning the
Iranian authorities’ crackdown on protestors, journalists and internet freedom. We call on
Iran to respect the right to peaceful assembly, exercise restraint, and release unfairly
detained protesters. We are working with our partners across international fora to ensure
Iran is held to account, including via the Human Rights Council in Geneva and the UN
General Assembly in New York. On 3 October, HMG summoned Iran’s Chargé d’Affaires
in London, Hosseini Matin, to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to
reiterate our profound opposition to his government’s inexcusable actions. The UK has
over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran including in relation to human
rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. This includes sanctions against the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety. On Monday 10 September, the UK made clear
no one should face violence because of what they wear or how they express their beliefs
and so sanctioned Iran’s so called Morality Police and others involved in the violent
repression of women and protestors. We continue to raise our concerns with the Iranian
authorities at every opportunity, both in London and via our Ambassador in Tehran.
As the Foreign Secretary has said, the protests send a clear message that Iranian
people are not satisfied with the path their government has taken. Iran’s leaders must
now listen. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said on 28 September, the world is watching Iran.
The UK will continue speaking up for human rights, for women and minorities, and for
the basic freedoms that all Iranian people deserve.