Response to interpellation 2023/24:710 on the situation of women in Iran
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M views the situation in Iran with the utmost seriousness and expresses support for Iranians who have demonstrated for their human rights 1. 1 2 M argues that Sweden acts through the EU and the UN, where the EU has tightened sanctions against actors responsible for violations 1 2. 2 M emphasizes that Sweden uses both international and bilateral opportunities to exert influence 2. 3 SD considers that Iran poses a threat to Europe and Sweden and argues that the Iranian opposition should be supported 3. SD criticizes that Sweden carried out a prisoner exchange where a convicted criminal was released. SD argues that concessions during extortion erode Sweden's credibility. SD considers Iran to be a lawless country where the government takes Swedish hostages and that the Foreign Minister must clarify that travel to Iran is at one's own risk. SD argues that Sweden cannot strengthen human rights if it constantly negotiates over hostages. 4 SD emphasizes that Iran poses a threat to Sweden and the world through cyberattacks, robot attacks against Israel, and arms deliveries to Russia 4. 5 M argues that Sweden works at the UN level to improve the situation through resolutions, council meetings, and special rapporteurs 5. 5 M welcomes that Iran was excluded from the UN Commission on the Status of Women 5. 5 M emphasizes that Sweden and the EU condemn the death penalty 5. 5 M argues that Sweden continues to work to get Ahmadreza Djalali free and that he is a Swedish citizen 5. 6 M notes that the death penalty in Iran increased to its highest level in several years 6. 6 M argues that Sweden, together with the EU, works for international pressure against the repression in Iran 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! I have asked my representative Tobias Billström in what way he and the government intend to act towards Iran regarding the situation of Iranian women. As Foreign Minister, I answer the question.
The Government views the situation in Iran with the utmost seriousness, which remains very difficult. As Sara Gille notes, this applies in particular to women and girls in Iran. We have consistently expressed our strong support for the Iranians who during recent years have peacefully demonstrated for their human rights to be respected.
The government has also strongly condemned the Iranian authorities' violence against peaceful protesters and other human rights violations in Iran. This has occurred in statements and in direct talks with Iranian representatives, including at the ministerial level. Together with like-minded countries, Sweden also raises its voice in the HR Council in defense of the situation of women in Iran.
Sweden also continues to act through the EU and the UN to ensure that our messages and also the measures taken achieve a significant impact and thus become as effective as possible.
The EU has, in ten rounds, introduced and tightened sanctions against Iranian actors who are deemed to bear responsibility for violations or abuses of human rights in Iran.
Sweden continues to contribute to strong international pressure that supports the Iranian people's legitimate demands for respect for human rights and makes it clear that Iran's actions have international consequences.
Sara Gille (SD)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by welcoming the Minister to her new assignment. I would then like to thank her for the answer to the interpellation.
The situation regarding human rights in Iran remains very serious. Despite it being 45 years since the Iranian revolution, the female population in Iran still lives under political oppression.
According to Iranian law, it is a woman's duty to conceal her body outside the home and from people she is not related to. In order to curb women and have control over them, the police have been tasked with punishing those who refuse to wear a hijab.
Since the turn of the year, women must also wear a veil when they are sitting in a car. If they do not, the car is seized, and the women are punished. On several occasions, brave women have risen up and tried to make their voices heard. They have tried to influence and take back women's rights by defying the mandatory veil. This has been stopped time and again.
Women have been prosecuted, sentenced to flogging, fined, sentenced to imprisonment and forced to participate in so-called moral education. They have even been killed when they have defied Iran's hijab laws.
In some parts of Iran, authorities want to prevent women and men from being in, for example, shops together. Some hospitals have been ordered not to admit female patients if they do not wear a headscarf. Several cafes and other businesses have been closed by the judiciary because they have served women who have not worn a veil or who have worn it incorrectly.
This is something that contributes to women being extremely restricted in society and which makes it difficult to refuse the veil.
I am a woman and have two daughters, one of whom is 20 years old, and I work with issues regarding honor-related violence and oppression as well as women's vulnerability. It hurts very much in my heart to see that this is allowed to continue.
I am deeply grateful that my daughters can grow up here in Sweden and have their human rights met. But, Mr. Speaker, in the long run, Iran also poses a threat to Europe and Sweden. Therefore, there are strong reasons to support the Iranian opposition. Women can constitute an important component in this context, and there should be long-term and well-considered courses of action so that one can meet and support Iran's oppressed population.
Cooperation with the leadership in Iran should be limited to a minimum. And it is important in international contexts to signal one's support for Iran's opposition, especially those who are in the country, for what we can assume is that the Islamic dictatorship in Iran will sooner or later fall. We must show our support as soon as possible. It will benefit security in the region and also, in the long run, world peace.
I would like to know exactly what the minister and the government are doing beyond expressing their support for the Iranians who have peacefully demonstrated for their human rights. In what way does Sweden act through the EU and the UN? Does the minister believe that the government has done enough?
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Many are aware of the gender apartheid that prevails in Iran. Such an order, where men and women are separated in every possible way, has existed since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
The regime in Iran has now taken even more steps to ensure that the hijab, which is part of this gender apartheid, is implemented even more strictly.
On April 21, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard announced the establishment of a new body that will implement the hijab mandate and which has been trained to do this in an even stricter manner than has been done previously. At the same time, the mullahs' regime is forcing the rest of society to implement the hijab mandate.
The UN Human Rights Commission announced in April this year that hundreds of businesses have been closed because these businesses have not implemented hijab requirements.
The regime's response to the popular uprising against the hijab mandate has been to implement the hijab mandate even more strictly, both through new methods of operation and through new legislation. Here, surveillance equipment also plays an important role. Legislation adopted in Iran last year will force the private sector to hand over surveillance material to the police so that the hijab mandate can be implemented even more strictly. In other words, it means that all surveillance equipment exported to Iran could be used to implement the hijab mandate.
This is a larger effort from the regime to uphold the hijab law. In June last year, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan announced that the state had allocated resources so that more surveillance cameras would be installed for the purpose of implementing the hijab law. Drones are also used to implement the hijab law in Iran. New legislation in Iran will also allow the police to certify certain individuals who can monitor women to ensure that the hijab law is complied with.
It is obvious that the mullahs have established a totalitarian system where women's freedom is completely stifled, primarily through the veil. It is important that Sweden does not stand passive but acts in various international forums. The women in Iran need the world's support, and if it is ever important to stand up for equality, it is now when a regime makes the oppression of women its fundamental ideology. Every statement and every action matters.
What also emerges in this appalling process, where the oppression in Iran is worsening, is that the veil is nothing other than a tool for oppression. The authorities in Iran have not randomly chosen a garment to oppress women. They have not forced women to wear headbands or gloves. It is precisely the Muslim veil that is intended to symbolize that women are subordinate, and it is precisely this garment that is forced upon women in Iran.
Sweden needs to lead a fight against gender apartheid, women's oppression, and forced veiling wherever it occurs in the world. What we see in Iran today is what Islamists strive for everywhere in the world. It is an ideology that must be countered both in Sweden and Iran. Gender apartheid is the apartheid system that our generation must fight against.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! Sara Gille asked me what the government is doing concretely in the EU and in the UN. I thought I would devote this contribution to talking about what we do in the EU, which is our most important arena for influence, and then I will return to the UN in the next contribution.
The EU's Iran policy has tightened significantly since the autumn of 2022. Sweden and the EU have taken a number of measures against Iran due to the very serious situation. One such measure is further sanctions listings.
The EU's listing of persons and organisations who bear direct responsibility for human rights violations in Iran and repression against protesters has more than doubled in recent years. Six new sanction packages with listings were adopted by the EU Council of Ministers during the Swedish presidency, and Iran was repeatedly discussed at the EU foreign ministers' meetings that took place then. In total, over 300 individuals and entities are now listed under the EU's specific sanctions regime due to the HR situation in Iran.
There are also other sanction regimes against Iran. These target, among other things, the country's nuclear program as well as its military support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region. These sanctions too have been gradually expanded and tightened.
The EU has also made repeated statements condemning Iran's actions, most recently on the anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini's death on September 16. The EU protested then against the repression of peaceful demonstrations and the widespread application of the death penalty and called for improvement of the situation of women and girls.
We are continuously reviewing the tools available to respond to Iran's actions in as effective a way as possible, and we see that we are strongest when we can do so together with the rest of the EU. But of course, we also use our bilateral opportunities. As recently as last Saturday, I met the new Iranian Foreign Minister, and I then expressed with emphasis the great concern we feel for the situation of women and girls in Iran.
Sara Gille (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answers!
Several foreign citizens, including Swedes, have been arrested in Iran on unclear or false grounds, something that unfortunately is not uncommon but part of a broader trend where Iran uses foreign citizens as political bargaining chips. It is part of the regime's political game, and it has several times functioned as a method to bring home citizens who have been sentenced abroad. Swedish citizens are used as pawns and can be held imprisoned for years under horrific conditions until Iran wants some political prisoner released from a Swedish prison.
This summer, Sweden and Iran agreed on a prisoner exchange between the countries. Sweden received back two citizens, and Iran received back, among others, the life-sentenced executioner Hamid Noury - I apologize if I pronounce the name incorrectly.
In the summer of 1988, thousands of political prisoners were executed in Iran. The first ever to be brought to justice was Hamid Noury, who was arrested in Sweden in 2019. He was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and was recruited by the Iranian judiciary to act as an assistant prosecutor in various prisons in Tehran. In this position, he is said to have approved the executions of 4,000-5,000 political prisoners. During the summer of 2022, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in a Swedish prison for gross crimes against international law and murder - a historic event that meant incredibly much to the relatives of the persons who were killed during the horrific prison massacre.
So, he has now been pardoned and handed over to his home country, Iran. In exchange, the Iranian regime released two Swedish citizens who were imprisoned in the country. Noury will likely be a free man in Iran, but for the political prisoners who remain, it is unlikely that an exchange will occur in the near future because Sweden currently does not have any prisoners that Iran is interested in.
Mr. Speaker! We know that Iran is the country in the world with the most executions per capita. These executions are the regime's way of intimidating critics into silence. Sweden and the EU should take prompt measures to stop executions and ensure the release of political prisoners in Iran.
Our previous government claimed to pursue a feminist foreign policy but mostly stood silent and stunned in the face of all this. Instead of clearly distancing itself from the oppression of women being carried out in Iran, one chose to remain silent when regime critics and human rights activists were imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced without due process to ultimately be hanged from cranes.
In what way is our new Foreign Minister and the government working to help those who have been imprisoned without just cause in Iran and to ensure that the death penalty is abolished?
In what way does Sweden contribute to ensuring that the situation regarding human rights in Iran improves?
Does the Minister consider it right that Hamid Noury was released and is therefore a free man? Was there really no other way to bring our Swedish citizens home?
That criminals who really should not be released are being released is a dangerous path to take.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to say a few words about an adjacent issue that affects Sweden's ability to stand up for human rights in Iran and which Sara Gille also went through.
A few months ago, a prisoner exchange took place between Sweden and Iran, where Sweden was able to bring home two Swedish citizens but unfortunately had to release Hamid Noury, who had, among other things, been convicted of crimes against international law in Sweden.
It is not possible to credibly stand up for human rights in Iran and thus women's rights if Sweden makes concessions when being blackmailed in this way. The safety of Swedish citizens must be prioritized, but at the same time, Swedish citizens cannot deliberately place Sweden in a situation where the government's credibility regarding international law and human rights is eroded.
We know that Iran is, in practice, a lawless country. If the regime in Iran needs a Swedish hostage, they take a Swedish hostage. That is how the mullahs' regime reasons. If we didn't know this before, we know it now. Moving forward, it is therefore important that the Foreign Minister clarifies that Swedish citizens who travel to Iran do so at their own risk. We cannot have a situation where Sweden takes a step forward and succeeds in designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization or creates broader support in international forums for the situation of women in Iran, while all of this is nullified simply because a Swedish citizen wants to travel to Iran to see a mountain or meet their relatives.
It is not possible to work in that way. If this continues and Sweden constantly has to negotiate with the regime in Iran regarding Swedish citizens who have been taken as hostages during their vacation, Sweden cannot in any way strengthen human rights in Iran.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! As promised, I also intended to speak about what the government is doing at the UN level to contribute to improving the human rights situation in Iran.
Within the UN system, there are several tools to both draw attention to the situation in Iran and hold Iran accountable. One is the annual resolution in the UN General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Iran, where the EU has been proactive in sharpening the messages.
The tools also include the UN Human Rights Council, where Sweden repeatedly, both on its own and in the EU and together with other like-minded countries, raises the serious situation in Iran. At the ongoing Human Rights Council meeting, Sweden will once again emphasize that more needs to be done regarding the situation for human rights in Iran.
A third tool is the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. The Special Rapporteur is tasked with monitoring the situation and reporting on human rights violations in Iran. The latest report confirms that the situation remains very serious, particularly for women and girls as well as for ethnic and religious minorities.
The report and the human rights situation in Iran were discussed during the special rapporteur's visit to Stockholm at the end of May. He also thanked Sweden for its support and emphasized the importance of the international community continuing to pay attention to the situation in Iran. We agree with that, and we also contribute to that from the government's side.
Sweden was also one of the countries that requested an extra session on Iran in the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022 to discuss and mark the serious human rights violations occurring. The Council then decided on an independent investigation to clarify the events in Iran in connection with the protests against the regime in 2022 and to enable accountability. The work has a special focus on women and girls. Sweden is in close contact with the investigation, which presented its report in March this year. At that time, its mandate was also extended, and the government has welcomed this.
I also want to mention that Iran was excluded from the UN Commission on the Status of Women in December 2022, which Sweden has welcomed.
When it comes to the death penalty, this is something that Sweden and the EU condemn in the strongest possible terms. This is also what I did in my conversation with Iran's Foreign Minister on Saturday.
Sweden has not given up on Ahmadreza Djalali and will continue the work to get him freed. The government has great understanding for the despair that he and his family feel, and they have our deepest sympathy. As the Prime Minister also stated, Sweden did everything so that Djalali would be released in connection with the exchange. Iran refused to discuss his case. They claimed that they do not recognize him as a Swedish citizen because he was only an Iranian citizen when he was arrested. They argued that the case therefore constitutes a matter solely for Iran. We do not share this view; he is a Swedish citizen.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs currently advises against all travel to Iran.
TJÄNSTGÖRANDE ÅLDERSPRESIDENTEN
I would like to take the opportunity to point out that I am the age president, not the speaker.
Sara Gille (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Iran poses a threat not only to its own female population but also to the rest of the world, including Sweden. Recently, Iran's security service carried out a special operation against various targets in Sweden. Hackers took over an SMS service and sent out 15,000 messages in which they called for revenge against Quran burners. It stated, among other things, that those who have insulted the Quran must pay for their actions. Säpo has announced that it is the Iranian state, via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, that is behind the data breach.
On Tuesday, Iran chose to fire nearly 200 missiles at Israel. Iran's Revolutionary Guard states that they partially used hypersonic missiles, more specifically the medium-range missile Fattah. The UN Security Council has convened due to the attack, and the Secretary-General urged the parties to immediately cease attacking each other. Several countries have condemned the incident and imposed sanctions against Iran, while the Palestinian terror-designated group Hamas praises the attack.
Iran does not recognize the state of Israel, and it is in practice Iran that is the spider in the web of the resistance against Israel. It is a resistance consisting of a number of militia groups that all oppose Israel and which includes, for example, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen - movements that have attacked Israel during the one-year-long war in Gaza.
Furthermore, we know that Iran is sending weapons to Russia and that Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use these weapons, something that several countries condemn.
How will Sweden act after Tuesday's indiscriminate attack, given the threat that Iran actually poses to us?
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! As I mentioned in my response, the situation for human rights in Iran remains very serious. We have, for example, noted that the application of the death penalty, which Sweden and the EU oppose under all circumstances, increased last year to the highest figure in several years in Iran. At the same time, reports from among others the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding an increasingly stricter application of laws on the mandatory wearing of veils for women, just as Sara Gille has creditably accounted for.
I want to thank for the commitment to this extremely important issue that exists in this chamber. The Government continues to follow the developments in Iran closely. It is also important that the rest of the world continues to pay attention to the situation in Iran. Together with other EU and international partners, Sweden therefore continues to work for strong international pressure, which effectively counteracts the repression and supports the people's legitimate demands for respect for their human rights.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.