File:Remarks by Janez Janša at the Free Iran World Summit 2021 on 10 July 2021.webm

English: Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia

Dear participants of the Free Iran World Summit, dear friends, let me first of all emphasize my today’s message to you, dear participants, is the message through you to the Iranian people, to all those watching the event via satellite or online. I just regret not being able to address you in person. My special greeting goes to the keynote speaker of the summit, the President Elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. Let me start by saying what I have said many times before, Iranian people deserve democracy, freedom, and human rights, and should be formally supported by the international community. As you know, the European Union has put a range of restrictive measures in place in response to many issues of concern, specifically, this case of the EU restrictive measures adopted in response to serious human rights violations by Iran. Iranian regime must be held accountable for human rights violations and the international community must be more firm on this. I would also like to address the families of the 30,000 political prisoners who perished during the 1988 massacre and I send my support to the justice and accountability to the formation of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 massacre.

For nearly 33 years, the world had forgotten about the victims of the massacre. They should change. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry is of crucial importance to shed light on the horrible 1988 massacre. Families of the victims see the Commission of Inquiry so that they could finally obtain justice and closure. This is especially important in light of the fact that the regime’s next president will be Ebrahim Raisi, who is accused by Amnesty International of crimes against humanity for this role in the massacre. Therefore, once again, I clearly and loudly support the call of the UN investigator on human rights in Iran, who called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state ordered executions of 1000s of political prisoners and the role played by the president elect as the current Deputy Prosecutor.

Dear friends, I will personally continue being engaged on all these issues of concern. You can always count on my understanding and support. Thank you for your attention.