Honourable Vice-President/High-Representative,

We welcome your plans to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 16th of April. We share your view that the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action opens new opportunities for the EU-Iran engagement in such areas as trade, the fight against drug-trafficking, counter-terrorism, environment protection, energy, culture and people-to-people exchanges. We strongly support your leadership and the work of the Iran Task Force in bringing these projects to fruition.

To facilitate the implementation of this ambitious agenda, improvements in Iran´s human rights record are essential. With hundreds of political prisoners and prolific use of death penalty, the human rights situation in Iran is still critical, and we trust that your delegation will raise these issues with the Iranian counterparts. In this context, we would like to draw your attention to some individual cases of human rights violations that have a considerable potential to derail the ongoing rapprochement. We refer, in particular, to the cases of dual Iranian-American nationals Siamak Namazi and his 80 year old father Baquer Namazi.

Siamak Namazi was arrested in October 2015 after a period of intense interrogations by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. More than five months later there is still no clear information about why Siamak was arrested and what he is accused of. His father Baquer Namazi, former senior UNICEF official and civil society representative, was arrested on 23 February. These arrests violate human rights and are in contradiction with the spirit of moderation and re-engagement with the world that the results of the recent parliamentary elections in Iran have conveyed.

The arrests of Siamak and Baquer Namazi send a chilling message to the Iranian dual nationals, including those with dual Iranian-European nationalities. Since a great number of them are active in business, academia, culture and other fields of the EU-Iran engagement, such arrests and the associated uncertainty can seriously undermine the prospects for cooperation and incremental, gradual internal change in Iran.

We are confident you will discuss with your Iranian counterparts ways to re-engage on human rights dialogue, with a view of achieving realistic and tangible improvements. We would particularly appreciate if you found a way to raise the cases of human rights violations of Siamak and Baquer Namazi during your visit to Tehran.

Sincerely yours,

Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Vice-President, MEP S&D

Elena VALENCIANO, Chair of Human Rights Subcommittee, MEP S&D

Paul RÜBIG, MEP EPP

Brando BENIFEI, MEP S&D

Klaus BUCHNER, MEP GREENS

María Teresa GIMÉNEZ BARBAT, MEP ALDE

Ana GOMES, MEP S&D

Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, MEP S&D

Javier NART, MEP ALDE