Paris: In support of Iran's anti-government protesters, up to 12,000 people marched on Monday to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg in eastern France as the Eiffel Tower illuminated the night with the slogan "Woman. Life. Freedom," which embodies the protest movement spreading outside of Iran.
"Stop executions in Iran," was another message projected on the Eiffel Tower display, emphasising a protesters' demand. Both messages pay homage to Mahsa Amini, whose passing in September sparked protests, arrests, and executions in Iran.
Amani was made an honorary citizen of Paris posthumously in October, and according to Paris City Hall, the displays on Monday at the Eiffel Tower were a tribute to both Amini and "those who are bravely fighting for their freedom as the (Iranian) regime is continuing executions of protesters."
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On the 44th anniversary of the day Iran's last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, left the country for good due to illness and mounting pressure, Iranians in Europe organised a march in Strasbourg.
The Islamic revolution that gave Iran its theocracy swept the monarchy aside the following month. On Monday, some of the protesters carried pictures of the former king.
According to police and local media, 12,000 people participated. One banner proclaimed, "Your silence is violence," reflecting the call of Iranian protesters abroad for support in spreading their message and making sure Tehran is aware of it. Protesters want the European Union to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation and take a stronger stance against Iran.
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This week, the EU's response to the demonstrations and executions in the Islamic Republic will be discussed during the plenary session of the European Parliament. Thursday's vote on a non-binding resolution is seen by protesters and other participants as an opportunity to add the Revolutionary Guard to the EU's list of terrorist organisations.
More than 100 MEPs urged the EU to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "in its entirety as a terrorist organisation" in a letter sent to Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, last week. In 2019, the US classified the IRGC as a foreign terrorist group.
Following a meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Monday in The Hague, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra declared that the two had summoned Iran's ambassadors in their respective nations to protest the execution of protesters and British-Iranian former defence ministry official Ali Reza Akbari.
"To go further with EU sanctions against those responsible, against all those responsible for these grave human rights violations in Iran," Hoekstra stated that the ministers support.
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Since the death of 22-year-old Amini on September 16, who passed away after being arrested by the morality police, Iran has been shaken by protests. Since then, the demonstrations have evolved into one of Iran's most significant challenges.
