Maryam Rajavi at Italian Parliament: End Silence on Iran Executions

Maryam Rajavi: Defenders of Freedom and Human Rights Worldwide Must Stand with the People of Iran

Greetings to the distinguished Senators and Deputies of Italy,
I would like to express my profound gratitude for the initiative to convene this meeting and for your solidarity with the Iranian people’s resistance for freedom and democracy.
As a nation that has experienced defining and pivotal moments over the past century, you are uniquely positioned to understand the reality of our country today.
A truly unprecedented, critical, and exceptional situation has taken hold accompanied by unbearable pressure bearing down on tens of millions of Iranians.

The Real War: The Ruling Regime vs. the People of Iran

The consequences of this situation will undoubtedly impact not only the destiny of Iran but also the broader landscape of the Middle East and Europe. The conflict and tensions of recent months have obscured the real war taking place within Iran.
In reality, the fundamental conflict is between the ruling regime and the Iranian people. This is a battle that began forty-five years ago, and today it persists through the ongoing popular uprisings and the activities of the Resistance Units.
The people of Iran aspire to achieve a democratic republic defined by the separation of religion and state, gender equality, autonomy for ethnic nationalities, and progressive economic and social development. This is the vision represented by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Conversely, the remnants of the regime seek only to preserve their dying regime.
The regime is currently exploiting foreign war to camouflage its own desperate domestic crisis, particularly as the precarious standing of the new Supreme Leader has triggered widening fractures at the very summit of power.

Why Does the Regime Conduct Daily Executions?

In recent weeks, this criminal regime hanged eight members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Ghezel Hesar Prison. Their bodies have still not been returned to their families, and some of their family members have even been imprisoned simply for trying to locate their graves.
You have undoubtedly seen the images of these defiant souls who stood on the gallows.
And here are the photographs of seventeen rebellious protesters arrested during the uprisings, who were hanged by these executioners over the past two months.
The regime’s brutal judiciary, as its chief has repeatedly declared in recent weeks, intends to carry out a bloody purge of the prisons.
Clearly, these daily executions are driven by the regime’s sheer fear of the Iranian people and their uprisings. Yet, it has utterly failed, and will always fail, to intimidate an outraged public. On the contrary, the defiance of the PMOI members, who broadcast their messages and sing anthems on the very brink of execution, has inspired Iran’s youth to resist even further. They pledge to press forward until this regime is overthrown.

The Policy of Appeasement and Misconceptions About Iran

Distinguished Representatives,
In past years, the policy of appeasement regarding the Iranian issue fostered profound misconceptions and widespread confusion. Today, however, three fundamental truths have been decisively proven:
• First: The warmongering religious dictatorship ruling Iran is the enemy of the Iranian people and a permanent threat to global peace and security.
• Second: The only viable answer to this regime is its complete overthrow.
• Third: The overthrow of this regime can only be achieved through one path: popular uprisings and the organized resistance of the Iranian people, spearheaded by the Resistance Units.
The validity of this path is proven not only by the collapse of false alternatives and the baseless assertions of pretenders, but also by its tangible success on the battlefield of struggle.
This is the path that inspires Iran’s new, rising generation. One need only look at the young people executed in recent weeks to see how courageously they defended the legitimacy of their struggle before the regime’s kangaroo courts.
One need only look at the tens of thousands of rebellious youths arrested during the January uprising, who stand as the frontline fighters of this struggle. Look also at the 630 operations carried out by the Resistance Units against regime centers during that uprising.
Just five days before the outbreak of the war, in the early hours of February 23, multiple units of the PMOI, comprising 250 resistance fighters, launched a coordinated strike targeting Khamenei’s headquarters and the regime’s most sensitive government centers in the most heavily fortified security zone in Iran. The regime lives in constant dread of these attacks being repeated.

Peace and Freedom: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Three distinct groups attempt to deny this decisive factor in the Iranian equation:
1. The regime itself.
2. Those who cling to the illusion of appeasement.
3. Those who have manufactured a pseudo-alternative out of the remnants of the monarchical dictatorship.
In recent days, the remnants of the monarchy staged a march on the streets of Europe, donning the uniforms and waving the banners of the Shah’s torturous secret police, SAVAK. Everything about them is counterfeit, save for their true ambition: to resurrect a dictatorship and a brutal repressive apparatus.
Fortunately, parliaments and governments in Western nations have largely distanced themselves from getting entangled in this puppet show surrounding the remnants of the deposed monarchy.
As Senator Terzi recently noted, the son of the deposed Shah exhibits a form of leadership that relies on media prominence abroad rather than genuine, substantive action inside Iran. Meanwhile, the members of the PMOI face the daily perils of torture and the gallows.
A structured, highly active alternative exists at the very heart of our nation: the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). This institution has played a foundational, strategic, and historic role in safeguarding global security.
Indeed, the Iranian people are moving decisively toward establishing a society free from all forms of tyranny. As Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Iranian Resistance, famously stated: “Our sixty-year struggle against the dictatorships of both the Shah and the mullahs for freedom and independence will endure until the ultimate victory of the democratic revolution.”

Ending the Silence on the Tragedy of Executions

Distinguished Lawmakers,
The situation in Iran and the broader region has reached a critical and perilous tipping point. The standing of the European Union demands that it firmly reject any policy that empowers the regime against the Iranian people. Crucially, the EU must break its silence regarding the tragedy of political executions. This ongoing silence grants the regime a free hand to perpetuate its atrocities.
Peace and freedom in Iran are two sides of the same coin. If the European Union is truly serious in its calls for peace, it must simultaneously recognize the right of the Iranian people and their resistance to overthrow this regime and stand firmly by their side.
The people of Iran are closer than ever to transforming their own destiny, and they expect to see the defenders of freedom and human rights around the world, including here in Italy, standing right beside them.