Posted 12/01/2023 by Leah Ferris
In December 2022, it was reported that a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) across Europe are sponsoring prisoners detained in Iran during the recent protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. The movement appears to have started with several members of the German Parliament announcing their sponsorship of Iranian prisoners at risk of being executed in early December 2022 and has spread to other countries including New Zealand and Canada.
In Australia, examples of MPs sponsoring political prisoners include Monique Ryan, the Member for Kooyong, who recently announced she will sponsor Mahsa Mohammadi and Mohammad Boroughani. Zoe Daniel, the Member for Goldstein, has announced she will sponsor Fahimeh Karimi, Amir Mehdi Rezaei and Erfan Rezaei and that she has written to the Iranian Embassy to notify them of her sponsorship. Australian Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John has also written to the Iranian Ambassador stating his political sponsorship of Majid Kazemi.
What is political sponsorship?
Amnesty International has had a long history of campaigning for the release of ‘prisoners of conscience’, which it defines to mean ‘someone who has not used or advocated violence or hatred in the circumstances leading to their imprisonment but is imprisoned solely because of who they are (sexual orientation, ethnic, national or social origin, language, birth, colour, sex or economic status) or what they believe (religious, political or other conscientiously held beliefs).’ This includes the annual Write for Rights campaign, which encourages people to write letters in support of prisoners of conscience.
The concept of political sponsorship currently being used by MPs with respect to Iranian prisoners appears to have been developed by the International Society of Human Rights (ISHR), an independent non-profit and non-governmental organisation formed in Germany that advocates for people who are non-violently engaged in the realisation of human rights in their countries or who are persecuted for claiming their rights. However, as noted by the organisation Women Life Freedom Australia, it has previously been used by MPs in other countries such as South Africa and Canada to support political prisoners detained elsewhere. For example, in July 2020 the human rights organisation Libereco launched its campaign #WeStandBYyou which was aimed at encouraging members of European parliaments to take over godparenthood for political prisoners in Belarus.
The ISHR explains the concept of political sponsorship to mean ‘MPs select a specific political prisoner and use their political weight to advocate for his or her freedom. This is done primarily by the MP contacting the ambassador and the relevant government and asking questions about the political prisoner by letter. It is also possible and desirable, of course, for MPs to draw attention to their commitment to human rights and the prisoner in their own media work. The more publicity for the prisoner, the better.’ Rather than requiring MPs to undertake specific obligations, the concept of political sponsorship instead involves MPs using their resources to lobby for the person and raise awareness of their detention.
How do MPs select which prisoners to sponsor?
While it is up to MPs to choose which prisoners they will sponsor, MPs have generally chosen to sponsor Iranians at the highest risk of execution. As noted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in December 2022: ‘There has been the imposition of death sentences and long prison terms for a growing number of people, and the trial processes have been highly criticised by many observers for lacking basic procedural fairness, with confessions, rather evidently, extracted under duress. This has now extended to the brutal execution of two protesters on 8 December and 12 December … there are many others who are at risk of execution who have already been convicted.’ It was reported on 8 January 2023 that the Iranian Government had executed two men who had participated in the protests.
Is political sponsorship effective?
As noted by the Guardian, ‘although there is a debate about the value of prisoner sponsorship in practical terms, a willingness to lobby on behalf of a specific Iranian prisoner places some pressure on a country where at least some of the political elite are worried about its growing international isolation.’
In evidence to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, as part of the Committee’s inquiry into the human rights implications of recent violence in Iran, Women Life Freedom Australia noted that political sponsorship ‘is the tool we have at our disposal’ and while there is ‘no guarantee that a good result will come of it’, ‘the fact that they feel they're being watched is going to put pressure on them’.
What other actions have been taken by Australian parliamentarians?
On 27 October 2022, Senators Claire Chandler and Jacqui Lambie moved a motion that the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee conduct an inquiry into the human rights implications of recent violence in Iran. The motion was successful, and the Committee has published over 300 submissions and is due to table its report by 1 February 2023.
Parliamentarians have also used the adjournment debate to raise concerns with the situation in Iran. For example, on 22 November 2022, Paul Fletcher, the Member for Bradfield, spoke ‘about the bravery of the people of Iran as they protest against the repressive, autocratic and undemocratic regime in that country’ and about meeting with ‘a delegation of Australians of Iranian background, who live in my electorate, to discuss the widespread protests in Iran’. Other members, including Monique Ryan and Jerome Laxale, the Member for Bennelong, have also made statements in the House of Representatives about the situation in Iran.
What has been the Australian Government’s response?
DFAT has stated that the Australian Government ‘has continued to actively and publicly call out Iran for its egregious behaviour and been taking action in multilateral fora’. These actions are detailed in DFAT’s submission to the Committee and also include the co-sponsorship of the resolution that resulted in Iran's removal from the Commission on the Status of Women. On 10 December 2022, the Foreign Minister also announced that sanctions would be imposed on 13 individuals and two entities ‘involved in egregious human rights violations and abuses’ in Iran.