On the human rights situation in Iran, notably the cases of Taraneh Rahimi and Leila Abolhasani

European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, notably the cases of Taraneh Rahimi and Leila Abolhasani

(2026/2912(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Iran continues to brutally suppress its citizens; whereas Iran’s nationwide uprising in January 2026 was met with state violence of unprecedented scale, with thousands killed;

B. whereas Iranian courts in Isfahan imposed death sentences on 20-year-old Taraneh Rahimi and 43-year-old Leila Abolhasani in relation to the protests; whereas Ms Rahimi’s sister, Romina, received a long prison sentence;

C. whereas Iran has the highest death sentence rate per capita in the world; whereas in March 2026, authorities began executing the January protesters following sham prosecutions based on confessions obtained through torture; whereas at least 12 women are facing the death penalty for broadly applied national security offences;

1. Strongly condemns the politically motivated verdicts against Taraneh Ramini, Leila Abolhasani and all others; calls for the immediate reversal of the sentences, a halt to all executions and the unconditional release of all political prisoners; calls on the Iranian authorities to give Taraneh and Romina Rahimi immediate access to appropriate medical care;

2. Calls on the Iranian regime to halt any use of violence against civilians and immediately halt all executions, abolish capital punishment and release all those arbitrarily detained;

3. Raises serious concerns about the increasing number of women sentenced to death on false security-related charges;

4. Condemns the Iranian regime’s persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs, Azeris, Baha’is, Sunnis, Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians;

5. Condemns that over recent months the regime has intensified its campaign against women’s rights activists, journalists and human rights defenders;

6. Condemns the Iranian authorities’ and their proxies’ use of transnational repression to target and intimidate family members of protesters, dissidents and human rights defenders;

7. Urges the Council and the VP/HR to expand EU sanctions by targeting all officials responsible for the January 2026 massacres, including judges, prosecutors and intelligence officials directly responsible for sentencing and executing protesters;

8. Is appalled by Iran’s codification of gender discrimination and calls in that respect for the codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under international law;

9. Calls on Member States’ embassies in Tehran to implement the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders through systematic trial observation and prison visits;

10. Calls on the Member States to carry out investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction in order to hold Iranian officials accountable for grave human rights violations and to end systemic impunity; calls on the UN Security Council to refer Iran’s regime to the International Criminal Court;

11. Calls for strengthened support for the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to preserve evidence and identify those responsible for crimes under international law; encourages the Commission to increase its financial, material and legal support for Iranian civil society and collect evidence on human rights violations;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the EU institutions, the Member States, the UN and the Iranian authorities.