‘EU can’t claim to advocate human rights while barring medicine for Iran children’

An Iranian human rights official has hit out at the European Parliament for passing a resolution against what it calls “human rights breaches” in Iran, saying those who have a hand in the deaths of scores of Iranian child patients by blocking their access to medicine are in no position to lecture about human rights.

Ali Baqeri-Kani, who heads the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights, on Friday condemned the European resolution adopted a day earlier, which deals with the detention and recent executions of a number of dual nationals on convictions ranging from espionage to murder and corruption on earth.

The resolution “asks all EU member states to jointly issue public statements and undertake diplomatic initiatives to monitor unfair trials and visit prisons” where Iranian convicts holding European citizenship are serving time.

It also demanded “targeted EU measures against Iranian officials who have committed serious human rights violations.”

In response, Baqeri-Kani slammed the Europeans for their concerted attempts to block the access of Iranian child patients to medicine, among their other violations of the Iranian nation’s rights at different historical junctures.

“Currently, the Europeans stand accused of killing tens of Iranian child patients and are thus in no position to claim that they are advocates of human rights,” he said.

“It is called modern deception when you prevent the patients from getting access to medicine, while shedding crocodile tears because a sentence has been carried out for a criminal,” he said.

“By taking a nation’s health and livelihood hostage with the goal of imposing their on illegitimate demands, the Europeans have set a new record in modern savagery,” the official added.

The Iranian official further delivered a stern warning to the Europeans over the threat of sanctions mentioned in the resolution.

If the sanctions mechanism is activated, certain European governments will lose their credibility since many officials in Europe have played a crucial part in violating the Iranian nation’s rights — including the right to life, health, education and development — through imposing cruel and unlawful sanctions on the country.

He criticized the European Parliament’s impudence in supporting a bunch of criminals merely because of the European passports that they hold and asking the Iranian Judiciary to trample on justice for their sake.