As part of the Iranian Christian community, we express our solidarity and sympathy with the citizens of our homeland who are now caught in the midst of war and insecurity following the January massacre.

We emphasise with deep concern the urgent need to protect the lives of civilians in our country and other war-torn territories, and call for the security of prisoners, especially prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, to be guaranteed. 

In a situation in which the country is facing crisis and insecurity, the responsibility of the state for the lives and health of all detainees is doubled, and any harm to them is a serious and unacceptable violation of human rights.

As Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, recently stated, many “prisoners remain behind bars” in Iran after being “detained simply for exercising their fundamental rights”. 

We also demand the protection of vital infrastructure in Iran and other countries in the region from attacks.

The suffering of citizens in Iran is the suffering of all of us Iranians. Their will for freedom, peace, and human dignity is the common desire of the Iranian nation; beyond geographical borders and differences of belief.

We emphasise the right of citizens to freely access the Internet. Access to the Internet is not a privilege, but a fundamental right in today’s world; an essential right for informing, documenting human rights violations, and establishing free communication among citizens. Restricting or cutting off the Internet is itself a form of repression and violation of the fundamental rights of the people.

We think of the innocent Iranians injured during this conflict, as well as those affected by state repression and massacres, and consider efforts to help them to be one of our priorities.

We consider it our duty to reflect the voices of the oppressed people of Iran in international forums and to defend their rights, including to life, freedom, and human dignity. We believe in peace, and believe that freedom from 47 years of oppression and injustice is the right of every Iranian citizen.

We believe that no step in the path of advocating for the rights of the Iranian people is small, and every responsible and humane action in this direction is valuable and effective.