EPAS

Press Releases Plenary session  DROI  28-11-2024 - 12:55    
•    Hong Kong authorities must immediately release Jimmy Lai and all pro-democracy activists and repeal the National Security Law 
•    MEPs denounce the increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all women’s rights defenders 
•    Cambodian authorities must amend the Trade Union Law and the Law on Associations and NGOs 
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions on human rights issues in Hong Kong, Iran and Cambodia. 
Hong Kong, and notably the cases of Jimmy Lai and the 45 activists recently convicted under the national security law

The Hong Kong government must immediately and unconditionally release all pro-democracy politicians, activists and journalists sentenced on national security charges, including Jimmy Lai and Chung Pui-Ken, and drop all charges against them, MEPs say.

The National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which constitute a serious violation of international law, fundamental freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong, must be repealed, they add. Parliament also condemns the extraterritorial application of the National Security Law and the increasing repression by Chinese and Hong Kong authorities aimed at diaspora communities in the EU.
he growing and systematic repression of women in Iran

MEPs condemn the arbitrary detention of women in Iran, including Ahoo Daryaei, who removed her clothing and sat partially undressed as part of her protest in the courtyard of Tehran University on November 2, 2024. She was labelled “mentally unfit” and subjected to psychiatric confinement, a practice MEPs say amounts to torture. The resolution urges Iranian authorities to repeal discriminatory legislation against women and girls and to dismantle the 'morality police' and other repressive institutions. 
They also demand the immediate and unconditional release of all women's rights defenders and other victims of arbitrary detention, including EU citizens, and condemn the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, like Bhá’ís women.
Reiterating its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, (4) Parliament also calls on the Iranian government to give unrestricted access to the UN Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. The resolution was adopted by 562 votes for, 2 against, and 30 abstentions. The full version will be available here (28.11.2024).