Message to the Paris Conference “1,000 French Cities Against the Death Penalty in Iran”

Maryam Rajavi: Silence and inaction encourage the mullahs to carry out more executions and acts of terror

Madam Mayor, dear Florence Berthout,
Dear friends,
Thank you for your solidarity with the Iranian people’s resistance against this regime of executions and massacres.
The protests of more than a thousand honorable French mayors against executions in Iran are a powerful cry—one that echoes through the hundreds of prisons under Khamenei’s rule, reaching thousands of death row inmates.
This outcry strengthens the resolve of the courageous prisoners who, for over a year, have taken part in the campaign against executions every Tuesday. It also sends a powerful message to the families waiting outside prison gates that they are not alone.
Yes, the call of a thousand French mayors is proof that the true representatives of the French people stand with the people of Iran. On March 31, the regime’s Supreme Leader openly declared that uprisings are acts of sedition, and he threatened to suppress any popular revolt—as he has in years past.
This makes it clear: the greatest existential threat to the regime is the popular resistance and uprising, which are today embodied in the continuous operations of the Resistance Units.

The Heart of the Iranian Issue: The Battle between the People and Religious Fascism

The executions—1,150 carried out in Iran over the past year—are Khamenei’s defensive response to this growing resistance and the people’s uprising.
On April 8, five political prisoners were executed after enduring ten years in prison. Tragically, silence and inaction only embolden the mullahs to carry out even more executions and acts of terrorism.
As the mayors’ declaration rightly states: The authorities in Iran are attempting, through an atmosphere of terror, to prevent a popular uprising.
Therefore, under this regime, every execution is inherently political.
Yet the mullahs’ daily crimes only deepen the resolve of the courageous youth who are determined to overthrow this regime.
At the heart of the Iranian issue lies the struggle between the Iranian people and the ruling religious fascism.
All domestic and international developments concerning Iran revolve around this fundamental battle.

Confronting the Mullahs’ Blackmail

Thousands of elected officials stand with the Iranian people by supporting the “No to Executions” campaign.
In 2023, a majority of French parliamentarians voiced their support—and in 2024, 200 members of the previous National Assembly joined in condemning human rights violations and arbitrary executions.
They have called for recognition of the Iranian people’s right to resist religious fascism—a policy also endorsed by a majority of the United States Congress, as well as majorities in 32 European parliaments and several Arab nations.
If adopted by European governments, this policy is the only one that could make the Iranian regime regret its acts of terrorism and hostage-taking.
But when the price of each hostage’s release is paid by exerting pressure on the Iranian Resistance and demonizing it—as we have witnessed time and again over the years—Europe effectively hands over its own policy as a hostage to the mullahs’ regime, which is in its final throes.
Everyone wishes for the release of every hostage held in the mullahs’ prisons. But in such exchanges, French policy must never be allowed to fall hostage to the regime’s blackmail—because that only encourages them to take more hostages.
At a minimum, the continuation of diplomatic and commercial relations with the clerical regime must be made conditional on an end to executions and the release of hostages. This is the least that can be done in the face of the regime’s inhumane policies.
The day this regime halts its executions will be the day it can no longer withstand the organized uprising of the people—and it will fall.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran advocates for a democratic republic—free from executions and torture—where religion is separated from the state, where people enjoy full equality, and where the rights of ethnic minorities to autonomy are respected.
It envisions a non-nuclear Iran that upholds peace, peaceful coexistence, and regional and international cooperation.
This is why we call on all governments and parliaments to recognize the Iranian people’s right to overthrow this regime, and to support the rebellious youth in their struggle against the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
For decades, the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance have fought—at great sacrifice—for freedom. As General de Gaulle once said, “Freedom is never given; it is won.”