Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Reddit
Email
Print
In a powerful Point de Vue published by Ouest-France, one of France’s leading media outlets, on December 10, 2024, ten prominent French personalities, including philosopher Élisabeth Badinter, author and former Colombian senator Ingrid Betancourt, former UN rapporteur Jean Ziegler, lawyer Patrick Baudouin, president of Les Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme Pierre Bercis, former MP Jean-Pierre Brard, president of FEMO Jean-François Legaret, lawyer and essayist Jean-Pierre Mignard, president of the Danielle-Mitterrand Foundation Gilbert Mitterrand, and lawyer Dominique Attias, urged President Emmanuel Macron to demand an end to the escalating executions in Iran, which they describe as a “stain on contemporary history.”
The statement highlights the alarming number of executions—850 since the beginning of 2024, the highest per capita in the world. The authors stressed that these figures reflect “lives destroyed and heroes whose names will remain etched forever.” They specifically referenced the plight of six recently condemned individuals, including Mohammad Taghavi and Abolhassan Montazer, imprisoned for their association with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The signatories accused the Iranian regime of using the death penalty to suppress dissent and cling to power. “These sentences reveal the regime’s desperation, aware that domestic resistance is growing despite persecution and disinformation,” the appeal reads.
POINT DE VUE. «Brisons le silence sur les exécutions en Iran»@phgosselin @hsaulignac @FBerthout @geoffroyboulardhttps://t.co/9X71WCF2VC
— Ali Momen (@AliMomen_) December 11, 2024
The letter further criticizes the lack of global response to Tehran’s brutality and calls for urgent international action: “The regime fears international opinion. France, as the land of human rights and abolition, cannot remain a silent spectator.”
With Iran’s opposition activists and minorities, including Baluchis and Kurds, facing harsh reprisals, the appeal emphasizes the need for France to take a leading role in pressuring Iran. The signatories demanded Macron initiate steps to bring Iranian officials before international justice, echoing recommendations from the latest UN human rights report.
Their plea concludes with a call for solidarity: “Freedom and human dignity cannot be sacrificed on the altar of interests. France must send a clear message: the era of impunity for human rights violations is over.”
The powerful statement, published days before International Human Rights Day, reflects mounting concerns over Tehran’s escalating repression and demands France align its foreign policy with its foundational values of justice and human rights.