250 British politicians demand UN prosecutes Iran Ayatollah for genocide of own people By PAUL BALDWIN

CALLS were growing today for the UN-backed international prosecution of Iran’s theocracy, and leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after it was revealed Tehran was responsible for three quarters of the world’s state-sponsored murders.

More than 250 British politicians, including Iain Duncan Smith, Bob Blackman and Roger Gale, joined an international call for the leaders to be charged with crimes against humanity for historic and ongoing political executions running into many thousands.

Iran has been ruled by a religious dictatorship since the Islamic revolution of 1979. In their statement, the cross-party signatories condemn the regime’s systematic use of the death penalty to target dissidents and detained demonstrators - a political weapon it has used with impunity for 45 years.

According to Amnesty International, Iran carried out 74 percent of all recorded executions in the world in 2023. This alarming trend continued as new President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in July.

Iain Duncan Smith (Image: Getty)

The executions tally for the year 2024 is estimated to be just under 700 - with 100 (including 10 women) taking place in August 2024 alone. Victims have also included several political dissidents, including Reza Rasaei, who was arrested during the uprising in November 2022 in Shahriar, Tehran province.

Reza was linked to the “Woman Life Freedom” protests which seriously shook the theocracy. According to Amnesty International he was executed at dawn in Dizel Abad prison after a trial that relied on his forced “confessions” obtained under torture and other ill-treatment which included beatings, electric shocks, suffocation and sexual violence.

The signatories to today’s campaign highlight the regime’s long history of crimes against humanity, from past massacres to ongoing atrocities, as documented by UN mandate holders and human rights experts. 

They criticise the international community for turning a blind eye to Iranian atrocities, a failure that has emboldened the regime to intensify its repression and crackdowns with impunity. 

They also endorse Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s call to end executions in Iran and her Ten-Point Plan for Iran’s future, which outlines a commitment to abolishing the death penalty and safeguarding human rights.

Co-president of the British Committee for Iran Freedom (BCFIF), Prof. Lord Alton of Liverpool, said: “The time to act is now to prevent further atrocities and support the Iranian people’s fight for justice and freedom. We urge the UK Government to prioritise human rights, justice, and accountability in its 2025 Iran policy. The international failure to hold the regime to account is inexcusable and has fuelled atrocity crimes and record executions reported from Iran today.

“The UK must lead an international coalition to end this alarming trend by referring the regime to the UN Security Council, facilitating the prosecution of its leaders in an international tribunal or under existing mechanisms, given the overwhelming evidence of crimes against humanity.”

President of the International Committee of Parliamentarians for a Democratic Iran (ICPDI), Bob Blackman CBE MP added: “Today, growing cross-party support in the UK Parliament stands with the Iranian people to end repression and executions. The UK Government must deliver on its promise to hold the

regime accountable and we expect it to act with concrete sanctions, legal measures, and establishing international mechanisms.

“We also call on the UK Government to recognise the work done by the NCRI President elect Maryam Rajavi to provide a lasting solution to abolish executions, torture, and repression in Iran by endorsing her democratic platform for the future of the country.”

Baroness O’Loan DBE said: “As Iran’s regime exports its repression to the UK, threatening our democracy and intimidating pro-democracy Iranian dissidents, our Government must stand with the regime’s primary victims—the Iranian people and their organised resistance, the NCRI, and help their justice-seeking campaign to succeed in securing the prosecution of regime’s leaders. 

"Defending our democracy and security starts with ending the culture of impunity in Iran.”