The 'Justice Team' Initiative for Executed Political Prisoners Unveiled in the German Parliament

The political sponsorship group in Germany, along with some members of the German Parliament (Bundestag) and the human rights organization 'Hawar Help', unveiled the political sponsorship initiative for seeking justice for political prisoners executed during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, named the 'Justice Team' initiative. Mina Khani, a human rights activist and feminist residing in Germany, told Voice of America that the 'Justice Team' includes a collective effort by German parliamentarians as political sponsors and facilitators of the sponsorship process, which aims to sanction judges, prosecutors, and those involved in the executions and killings during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement. She added that the representatives participating in this initiative were political sponsors for political prisoners who were killed by the Islamic Republic during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement. According to Khani, this list includes prisoners who were under political sponsorship in the German Parliament but were executed or killed under torture by the Islamic Republic. The meeting held on Wednesday, January 17, in Berlin included representatives such as Helge Limburg, political sponsor for Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Mashallah Karami; Jürgen Hardt, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Christian Social Union party of Bavaria and political sponsor for Aram Omri Badriani; Petra Paw, political sponsor for Naeem Qatali and Mohammad Mohammad Ramaz Rashidi; Knut Gershaw, political sponsor for Assef Shahbakhsh; Nadia Shtamer, political sponsor for Mohammad Hosseini; and Martina Renner, political sponsor for Saleh Mirhashimi from the Isfahan case. Mina Khani stated that in the joint political sponsorship initiative with these German representatives, a list of individuals involved in the executions and killings of these prisoners is to be added to the German sanctions list. She added that the political sponsorship team has prepared a list of prosecutors and judges involved in these government killings. According to Khani, Daniela Sepehri, a member of the sponsorship team, announced in a press video regarding this initiative that 'we have delivered this list to the German Foreign Ministry and are following up to ensure these individuals are included in the German sanctions list.' Mina Khani also mentioned that as another member of the political sponsorship team in this video, she stated: 'We want to create a cost for every execution in the Islamic Republic.' Duzan Takal, an Ezidi-German journalist and filmmaker who moderated this press conference and is the director of the Hawar Help human rights organization, stated in this meeting: 'The Justice Team sent a list of names of Iranian government officials involved in executions to the German Foreign Ministry on January 8, 2024.' Mina Khani noted that during the discussions at the Wednesday meeting, Helge Limburg, Martina Renner, Nadia Steinmeier, Knut Gershaw, Petra Paw, and Jürgen Hart each expressed their experiences regarding the prisoners they sponsored and shared their distress and shock over the deaths of these prisoners, affirming their commitment to pursue justice for these prisoners.