Appeal on occasion of the federal election

In the run-up to the federal elections in Germany, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls on the democratic parties represented in the German Bundestag to stand up for human and minority rights in Iran. “The political opposition in Iran, which is calling for change in the country, and members of ethnic and religious minorities are massively persecuted by the Mullah regime. These courageous people, who are brave enough to stand up against the regime, must not be forgotten by the democratic parties in Germany,” demanded Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East consultant.

Due to the increasing repression in Iran, more and more people are leaving their homes to try and find protection, also in Germany. In 2024, Iran was the fifth most important country of origin regarding people who were granted asylum in Germany (28.4 percent) – after Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Somalia. “We are calling on the democratic parties to not only talk about topics like migration and deportations during the election campaign, but also about how to strengthen democracy and freedom in countries such as Iran. If the aim is to combat the causes of flight, more attention must be given to the strengthening human rights in authoritarian regimes,” Sido emphasized.

According to the UN, more than 900 people were executed in Iran in 2024: the highest number since 2015. “The victims are often members of the population groups of the Kurds or the Baluch, or members of the political opposition such as the People’s Mujahedin. “Often, it is people who leave Islam and convert to another religion who are especially affected by persecution. Along with the members of the Bahá’í religious community, these people are the most oppressed in Iran – and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are suffering from brutal persecution as well,” the human rights activist said. There is much to suggest that the regime is trying to compensate for its strategic losses and defeats in the Middle East – in particular the weakening of proxies such as Hamas and the Hezbollah, but also the fall of the Assad regime in Syria – by increasing pressure on the opposition at home.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are at least 336.000 people with an Iranian migration background living in Germany. Many of the Iranian people are strictly against political Islam and also oppose the Islamist regime in Iran.

In the multi-ethnic state of Iran, the population groups of the Azeris, Kurds, Arabs, Baloch, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other smaller ethnic minorities are still not recognized as independent peoples with their own language and culture. People whose worldviews or beliefs deviate from the official state religion are oppressed and persecuted. Members of the religious communities of the Bahá’í, Sufi Dervishes, Sunnis, and Christian converts are often arbitrarily accused of spying for foreign powers or labeled as enemies of the state – leading to them being arrested. Many of them suffer under unspeakable conditions in the Iranian jails.