Dear Doctor. Smith,
we are German-Iranians who are very concerned about the situation in Iran. For more than four weeks, people from all walks of life have been taking to the streets across the country to demonstrate for their basic right to freedom. For this they are attacked with tear gas and batons, captured, tortured and murdered on the street.
Nika Shakarami was only 16 when she was shot. Her body was not released for ten days. She was buried on her 17th birthday. Hadis Najafi was shot dead six times while taking part in the protests. Sarina Esmailzadeh was 16 years old and was murdered during the protests, after which her mother took her own life.
A few days ago, police officers stormed into an elementary school and attacked children with tear gas. Even a 7-year-old child was killed. At Sharif University, the notorious Basij have surrounded and slaughtered students. In Evin Prison they tried to burn the political prisoners alive. In Kurdistan they shot at people from helicopters. In Balochistan they raped a 15-year-old girl, gunned down the protesters and caused a bloodbath.
And you want to continue negotiating with such terrorists?
Dear Doctor. Schmid, the days of coziness with the Islamic Republic are over. Meanwhile, the fanatics who hold all the important posts are openly showing that there will be no reforms. The regime will not withdraw from its destabilizing role in the entire Middle East and the ongoing violations of human rights.
Now is the time to decide: do you want to side with the people of Iran or side with their killers? Do you stand with those who give their lives for universal values that we preach, or do you prefer to wait out fear of the regime and artificially keep the talks alive, which have long since collapsed?
We are convinced: You don’t negotiate with terrorists! That is why we urge you to work to end the talks on the JCPoA nuclear agreement. Have the courage to actually show your solidarity with the protesters in Iran.
Signatories:
Mina Ahadi, women’s rights activist
Negah Amiri, Standup-Comedian
Mina Ansari, Rechtsanwaltsgehilfin
Saba Farzan, theater scholar and chairwoman of the FDP local branch Gendarmenmarkt
Pegah Ferydoni, actress
Setayesh Hadizadeh
Daniel Hadjmehdi, editor at rbb
Faranak Hoang, engineer
Ghazaleh Hofmann, medical technician
Aras-Nathan Keul, Publisher
Ali Khademolhosseini, human rights activist
Avin Khodakarim, Studentin
Shilan Kurdpoor, teacher and activist
Nader Mekwandy, Taaj Ministries e.V.
dr Kazem Moussavi, spokesman for the Green Party of Iran in Germany
Fathiye Naghibzadeh, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin (MFFB)
Pouneh Pezhman Tabar, Alliance of Persian Speaking Christians
Amir Ranjbar, Project and Change Manager
Fatemeh Saidi, German-Iranian Christians e.V.
Daniela Sepehri, activist
Mehrdad Sepehri Fard, pastor and minister for Persian-speaking Christians in Westphalia